Bright Shadow
£10,000 Grant from the MCF
The Masonic Charitable Fund has recently awarded a charitable grant of £10,000 to Bright Shadow, a charity based in the East Kent. The grants follow a successful application to the MCF for support from the team at Bright Shadow led by CEO, Clare Thomas.
Supporting Dementia
Bright Shadow supports people living with dementia through a number of creative activities to help them live well and thrive. The Charity’s Zest programme offers a range of creative activities and inspiring resources for people living with dementia and their families and loved ones.
On 8th November, Provincial Grand Charity Steward, Peter Rhodes and Group 4 Charity Coordinator, James Burchell met with Clare, Jen Holland, Bright Shadow Canterbury Coordinator and a team of dedicated artists and volunteers along with some of the group members during one of the Zest sessions.
These highly interactive sessions are laid on for members and led by artists designed to boost their wellbeing, they are clearly enjoyed immensely by members.
We also met with some PHD students from the University of Kent who have been working with the charity for some time developing Virtual Reality applications which will ultimately be used by members to virtually visit a place they hold dear to their heart. The activities we saw on our visit were all part of the preparatory work towards this end goal, with members designing collages and other items with the aid of a local writer and model maker which will all be used to design the VR application.
Thank You
Clare was incredibly grateful for the generosity of the MCF in providing a significant sum which will all go towards continuing to operate these sessions across East Kent and provide those living with Dementia a safe place to socialise, have fun and make strong friendships along the way.
Clare said that the charity is still feeling the effects of the pandemic financially, and the MCF grant has come at a perfect time to allow them to continue their work.
Find Out More
There is more information on the work of Bright Shadow and the Zest Sessions at their website: https://brightshadow.org.uk/
