Bonne Mere is a ‘Special Needs’ facility and craft workshop accommodating children and young adults with Downs Syndrome and Autism. It is led by Mrs. Clairette Berque, supported by a wonderful team of staff with special-needs training.
Exercise equipment and arts & craft materials
During our get-together with Clairette in January 2022, she advised us of the need for additional exercise equipment (bouncy balls, hula hoops, play tunnel, yoga mats, cones, etc.) for the Unit, and arts and craft materials (paints, brushes, canvas) for the workshop, which we were most happy to provide; and we have been delighted to purchase and display in our house several of the excellent paintings and collages created by attendees at the workshop.
Since 2022, our Foundation has continued to provide Bonne Mere SEN Unit with further supplies of arts and craft materials for their creative workshop, together with a range of visual stimulus for use by the younger benefactors.
Digital tablets and headphones
We were intrigued to learn from Clairette her belief that digital tablets could be used effectively to stimulate active engagement among the pupils; we had – naively – assumed that such equipment would be too complicated for the children to operate – how wrong were we! Following our purchase of several tablets and stereo headsets, we were delighted to witness during our next visit to the Unit in September 2022 the children actively engaged with the various visual stimulus programs installed on the tablets.
“With the support of The Anderson Charitable Foundation we have been able to provide our students with a range of adapted tools that meet their specific needs, allowing them to achieve their full potential.”
Mrs. Clairette Berque
Principal, Bonne Mere SEN Integrated Unit
Sensory Products
In early 2024, the principal of Bonne Mere SEN Unit, Mrs. Clairette Berque, made a request to our Foundation for the purchase of a range of sensory products for use by the Unit’s benefactors, and during our visit to the Unit in October 2024 we were pleased to be informed by Clairette that the products purchased were very useful in both stimulating and calming the benefactors.
