Bonny Lea Farm Receives Over $9000 from District Masons

Masonic Lodge Selects Bonny Lea Farm as 2016 District Project

May 16, 2016 – CHESTER – Derrick Coolen, District Deputy Grand Master of Masons for Lunenburg and Queens counties arrived at Bonny Lea Farm today with exciting news. Bonny Lea Farm has been selected as the District project and has received $9184 to be used towards purchasing a wheelchair accessible van.

“We couldn’t be happier,” says Mary Ellen Clancey, Chair of the Board of Directors for Bonny Lea Farm. “We are grateful for the support the Masonic Lodge has given us over the years. This gift demonstrates their commitment to the community and the importance they place on the people who live here at Bonny Lea Farm.”

Currently whenever any one of the five participants who use wheelchairs go anywhere by vehicle, they must be transported in the large paravan minibus. With this gift we will be closer to being able to purchase a smaller wheelchair accessible van that can be used for errands and trips to the doctor without having to take the larger vehicle.

Although she knows it will still be some time before a new van is purchased, Joanne Boswell is happy to know it is happening. “It will be nice to not have to take the big bus when it is just me going somewhere,” comments Joanne Boswell, participant and wheelchair user at Bonny Lea Farm.

Each year the District selects a charity to benefit from their shared philanthropic efforts. A project is identified and the lodges work together, pooling their resources to make a financial gift. The funds donated to Bonny Lea Farm were raised by the eight lodges in the Lunenburg-Queens District and matched 3:1 by the Masonic Foundation of Nova Scotia.

“The Masons of Lunenburg-Queens District would like to thank Bonny Lea Farm and all of its staff for many years of service to a cause that affects all of our hearts and lives,” says Derrick Coolen, District Deputy Grand Master of Masons for Lunenburg-Queens.

This gift is not the first time the Masonic Lodge has directed its goodwill towards Bonny Lea Farm. Most recently, the District provided support for the purchase of a paravan in 2008 and in 2013 the Hillcrest Lodge assisted in purchasing two new wheelchairs for participants at Bonny Lea Farm.

Bonny Lea Farm is funded through government grants, private foundations and continuous fundraising.

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For more information contact:

Liz Finney, Fund Development Director, Bonny Lea Farm at 902-275-5622 ext 241 or efinney@bonnyleafarm.ca