Birkett Long solicitor lends support to arts charity

May 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Tax, trusts and probate specialist Emma Waters has become a trustee of The Art Ministry, which is based in Hadleigh.  Founded in 1992, the charity runs creative sessions for the visually impaired, those with learning difficulties and the physically disabled amongst others.  Participants pay a nominal fee for the classes, which are held at the Art Ministry’s base in Church Road.

Emma said: “The Art Ministry is such a worthwhile cause that I was very pleased to get involved as a trustee.  I have personal experience of disability and so I’ve always been interested in ways we can help improve the lives of disabled people.  Creative activities can really make a big difference, which is why the Art Ministry is so important.”

One of Emma’s first tasks as trustee will be to extend an existing outreach programme, in which Art Ministry volunteers hold arts and craft sessions in care homes.

“The charity is already holding weekly sessions at Parklands in Benfleet,” she explained. “Residents really benefit from the activities, as much on the social side as on a practical level.  Subject to funding, we’d like to extend this to other care homes over the next couple of years, which is a very exciting project to get my teeth into.”

Art Ministry fundraising committee chairperson Anita Lysiak has welcomed Emma to the charity.  She said: “We’d been looking for a trustee with Emma’s background for some time – we’ll be able to draw on her legal knowledge as well as her professionalism and enthusiasm.  She will complement our current skill set very well and bring something new to the table.”  

Birkett Long provides a wide range of legal and financial services including probate, wills, inheritance tax planning and fixed-fee funeral plans. With 22 partners, the firm has offices in Basildon, Chelmsford and Colchester.  For more information, visit www.birkettlong.co.uk.