In brief: Jersey Freemasons have donated £45,000 to Les Amis to fund Project Trinity, a new outdoor space at the charity’s Maison des Amis nursing unit. Twenty Freemasons also volunteered their time on site, carrying out landscaping, planting and painting. The project will serve islanders with learning disabilities whose needs have become more complex, including those requiring nursing, dementia and end-of-life care.
A Garden Grows at Maison des Amis
Channel Eye reports that residents and service users of Les Amis are set to benefit from a brand-new outdoor space, made possible by a £45,000 grant from the Freemasons’ Charity Community Fund. The money will go towards Project Trinity, described as an ambitious initiative to create a welcoming, accessible outdoor environment where people can improve their wellbeing, maintain their independence and connect with others.
The outdoor space forms part of Les Amis’ new nursing unit, Maison des Amis, which is designed to provide specialised support for islanders with learning disabilities when their care needs become more complex. That includes nursing care, dementia support and end-of-life care. According to Channel Eye, the project has already attracted backing from several other funders and stakeholders across the island, making the Freemasons’ contribution one piece of a broader community effort.
More Than a Cheque: Freemasons Roll Up Their Sleeves
What sets this donation apart from a simple financial gift is the hands-on involvement that came with it. Twenty Jersey Freemasons volunteered their time on site, helping with hard landscaping works, planting shrubbery and painting perimeter walls and containers. It is the sort of community engagement that tends to get overlooked in an era when charitable giving is often reduced to a bank transfer and a press release.
Shaun Findlay, Managing Director of Les Amis, said the funding would help create an outdoor space offering “accessibility and opportunities for the people we support while they receive essential, specialised care.” He added that the involvement of local Freemasons as volunteers “demonstrates the power of community partnership and will help create a lasting legacy for Jersey.”
Tim Dallas-Chapman, described by Channel Eye as Head of Jersey Freemasons, said the organisation was “delighted to support Project Trinity and continue our longstanding relationship with Les Amis,” noting that the project combines funding with hands-on volunteering to “deliver lasting benefits for people across the island.”
What Project Trinity Will Offer
Once complete, the outdoor space will give service users the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities, social interaction and therapeutic opportunities in a safe and accessible setting. For people living with complex learning disabilities, often in highly structured care environments, access to green space and fresh air is not a luxury: it is a genuine contributor to quality of life and mental wellbeing.
The project builds on what Channel Eye describes as a longstanding relationship between Jersey Freemasons and Les Amis, suggesting this is not a one-off gesture but part of an ongoing commitment to the charity and the people it supports.
Source: Channel Eye
