On a recent visit, the Leader of St Michael’s Lodge in Dawlish Alex Pennington, together with his Charity Steward Paul Beatty and two other members of the Lodge, who hold their meetings at the Masonic Centre in Barton Terrace, Dawlish, visited Claire Coombs the Team Leader together with her team of volunteers, parents and most importantly, the children at Orchard Manor School, also in Dawlish. Here, “AIMS” meet every Saturday morning to support children with different needs, together with their parents, who take the opportunity to get together and swap thoughts and ideas whilst the children have fun and games provided by the group of helpers and volunteers.
AIMS” (Activities, Interests, Music, Support) is a group that meets weekly throughout the year at Orchard Manor School to support families who have children with different needs. Here, the children can have fun and play in a safe environment, enjoying activities which include swimming, cooking and playing musical instruments. When the weather allows, they can also go outside to play on the swings & trampoline. This is also a place where parents can meet, chat and share experiences while their children play under the watchful eyes of the very experienced play leaders and volunteer staff.
AIMS was founded in 1992 by local Paediatrician Jill Diprose as a direct response to the needs of parents. They offer free drop-in sessions every Saturday from 11.00 am until 2.00 pm for families who have children with additional needs. They are totally self-funded and welcome all members of the family, from parents and siblings to grandparents. They offer weekly stimulating activities such as craft, music, cooking and outdoor play, not only from the local area, but children are also welcomed from any part of Devon if the parents are willing to travel be it Plymouth Tavistock or Barnstaple.
Alex presented Claire Coombs with a cheque for £5,000, which had been raised by the members of the lodge during his year as master, when passing the cheque Alex said that St. Michaels Lodge enjoyed raising funds for local as well as national needs and hoped that they could continue to support AIMS as they had done now for several years.
When receiving the cheque Claire Coombs said “We are deeply grateful for this substantial donation which will allow us to continue providing support to local families who have children with special educational needs, even though we are a small organisation it costs in excess of £20,000 a year to stay open and as we do not charge the families we are totally reliant of donations from well-wishers like you”
