Support for Freemasons and families
Nurturing the talents of the future generation
Seventeen-year-old Alex was born with cerebral palsy and has been practicing para-swimming since he was eight years old.
Alex saw success very soon after starting his swimming career, which came with a large cost that concerned his parents, Helen and Andrew, who are doing everything they can to support their son’s talent. As a Freemason, Andrew had heard about the support of the MCF so decided to reach out back in 2016, and the support has continued ever since. Through our TalentAid scheme, the MCF was able to help cover the costs for his school fees, as well as travel, accommodation and entry fees for competitions.
When Alex was just ten, he qualified for the national para swimming championships, winning silver and gold medals. He initially attended a mainstream school, but his talent was such that he needed to be in an environment which specialises in his expertise of para-swimming, and specialist school, Mount Kelly, offered him exactly that. The school cost was beyond what Alex’s parents could afford, so they turned to us for support and it has continued throughout his whole time there – which is nearly coming to an end as he hopes to begin his next chapter of education at Loughborough University.
The photograph shows Alex in his home in 2018
“Alex has reached many milestones in the six years he’s been receiving support from the MCF, which wouldn’t have otherwise been possible. The MCF helped us pay the fees for his specialist school, where he’s been given a fantastic swimming programme that has massively helped him develop. He loves it there as they’ve really embraced him as a pupil with a disability and nurture his talent in swimming.” – Helen, Alex’s mother
He has also achieved great success recently, including winning three out of four finals at an International Meet in Aberdeen. Most recently, he discovered that he will soon be moving from the England talent path to the British swimming team, which has always been one of his main goals.
On top of the school fees, the MCF has supported us with grants that have allowed us to bring him to competitions that are either abroad, or the other side of the UK. One five-day trip can cost around a grand, so without the support, we would have had to miss out on many competitions which would have hindered his success.
Our TalentAid programme helps children and grandchildren of Freemasons who are exceptionally talented in music, sport or the performing arts. Grants can be awarded to help families with ongoing costs such as coaching, advanced music lessons and the purchase of one-off items such as a uniform, musical instrument or sports equipment.
TalentAid applications for the next academic year will open in January 2023, and you will be notified of the outcome of your application in August.
