A grant of £20,000 from Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire Freemasons will enable KidsAid Foundation, a registered charity based in Northampton, to provide additional support, therapy and counselling to local children and young people who have suffered from violence, neglect, family-breakdown, bereavement and other trauma.
£14,700 comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), which is funded by Freemasons, their families, and friends from across England and Wales and £5,300 by way of top up grant from the Provincial Grand Charity of Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire.
The Provincial Grand Master, RWBro Max Bayes, was delighted to make the presentation on Monday the 23rd of September 2019 at the charity`s premises in Hazelwood Road, Northampton.
KidsAid are the only organisation in Northamptonshire and the surrounding area to offer this kind of support to children who are victims of domestic violence.
The grant will allow KidsAid to provide intensive therapy thereby giving the children and young-persons they support a chance to communicate and express themselves using a variety of creative media.
This approach allows thoughts and feelings to be explored within a safe environment thereby promoting greater self-awareness and positive change.
Northamptonshire organisations supporting victims of domestic violence have recently had significant cuts to their funding, which has put five out of six of Northampton's refuges at huge risk of closure. Many of these house victims' children.
Whilst these cuts do not directly affect KidsAid, the charity predicts that in the coming few years these already vulnerable young people will be at risk of further disadvantage, isolation and trauma.
Suki Bassi, Charity Manager from the KidsAid Foundation, said:
We’re very grateful to the Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire Freemasons for their generous grant, which will allow us to support many more children and young people who have experienced or been the direct victim of domestic abuse or violence. This is desperately important work with some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
The Provincial Grand Master said:
I am very pleased that we’ve been able to support KidsAid in their vital work helping local children and young people who have experienced abuse, neglect and violence. These are children who’ve often been badly traumatised, and helping them now can minimise long-term damage in the future.
About KidsAid Foundation
The KidsAid Foundation (Registered Charity No. 1167852) was established as a charity in 2007 by a dedicated team of professionals comprising a family-law barrister, paediatrician, politician, and social-worker all of whom recognised that there was not enough support for children and young people who suffer trauma.
The charity currently works with 3 to 18 year-old children and young-persons. It provides creative-arts therapies, counselling, and other interventions to help victims overcome their trauma, build resilience, and progress into adulthood with a better chance of a successful life.
For more information, please visit the charity's website: