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Freemasons donate minibus to school for children with learning difficulties

Freemasons donated a new minibus to a school for children with profound and severe learning difficulties and autism. Freemasons come from several backgrounds but all raise money for different charities through numerous events including ladies weekends for their wives and partners. They auction items to raise cash at all social gatherings and make donations at each of their meetings.

Freemasons present eye hospital donation

Manchester Royal Eye Hospital (MREH) Charity received a £125,000 donation from the Freemasons this week to help fund a DNA Sequencer, in research designed to improve diagnosis of inherited eye diseases and improve understanding into the genetic basis of eye disease. Pictured from left to right are Grahame Elliot representing the Freemason’s Grand Charity, Sir David Trippier, provincial grand master for East Lancashire, Maurice Watkins CBE, chairman of MREH Charity and Susmito Biswas of MREH. Sir Trippier said: ‘Freemasons are delighted to have provided vital financial support for the most worthy cause of the eyesight of young children, a cause for which Manchester Royal Eye Hospital provides such superb facilities and expertise. We are also delighted to have been supported in this project by The Grand Charity.’

Freemasons donate £400 to Families For Autism charity

Families For Autism received a cash boost of £400 thanks to the local Freemasons. The Worshipful Master, Graham Barnard, and charity steward Peter Butler, of Southbourne Lodge 4006, presented the cheque to Mark Jones, director of the local charity. Graham said, “We are delighted to support this excellent Saturday club, which gives support and respite to the families of children who have this disability and encourage the children in further development.” Families For Autism launched on August 10, 2010 to provide support and understanding to children and young people on the Autistic Spectrum within the Eastbourne area. For more information, visit www.familiesforautism.com.

Freemasons’ lodge donates thousands to local charities

A host of charities in 1066 Country have benefitted from donations from the Freemasons. Charles McIlwrick, MBE and members of The Hadrain Lodge in Bexhill recently presented six cheques to local charities and organisations. ADVERTISING Charles was the Master of the Lodge until mid-November when he then handed over the reins to Bernard Stonestreet. During his year the Lodge managed to raise £3,500 through a variety of fundraising functions. A cheque for £600 had already been donated to Chestnut Tree Children’s Hospice Arundel. This was £300 from the Lodge and £300 match-funded from The Sussex Lodge Charities.

Freemasons support Bucks visual impairment charity with generous donation

A group of Freemasons have stepped in to help a Bucks blindness charity with a generous donation. Amersham Lodge donated £1,000 to the Wycombe division of Bucks Vision, a visual impairment charity which supports people who suffer with blindness in Wycombe and the surrounding villages. Downley resident and Freemason, Joe Bowler, who suffers with blindness himself, asked his Lodge to donate some much-needed cash to the volunteer group. Dr Richard Waterfield presented the cheque to the charity’s social secretary Barbara Rippington, alongside Mr Bowler and fellow Lodge member Peter Kemp. Bucks Vision urgently need more volunteer drivers to transport members to social, craft and bowls clubs

Butterfly Service status awarded to RMBI care homes by Dementia Care Matters – Freemasonry Today

RMBI care homes Queen Elizabeth Court in Llandudno and Prince Michael of Kent Court in Watford have been recognised with a prestigious award for their care of people living with dementia The Butterfly Service status is a nationally recognised ‘kitemark’ awarded by Dementia Care Matters to identify care homes that are committed to delivering excellent dementia care and providing residents with a high quality of life. Only a handful of care homes in the UK have been awarded the status, and Queen Elizabeth Court and Prince Michael of Kent Court now join four other RMBI care homes around the country to have received the award. RMBI care homes Devonshire Court in Leicester, Shannon Court in Surrey, Barford Court in Hove and Prince Edward Duke of Kent Court in Essex have also received the Butterfly Service status. Debra Keeling, RMBI Deputy Director of Care Operations, said, ‘To have been awarded the Butterfly Service status is testament to the dedication of our care home staff providing exceptional care. We have made a substantial investment in dementia care training for staff and hold regular events and initiatives for our residents as part of our drive to support their welfare and wellbeing.’ Debra believes that the award demonstrates the RMBI’s commitment to delivering innovative care techniques to maintain the highest quality of life for its residents, as well as putting solid foundations in place to continue to provide excellent care as the number of those with dementia increases over the next few years. ‘As a charity we have been working closely with Dementia Care Matters since 2009, and with a number of other specialist dementia providers to deliver our dementia care strategy,’ said Debra. ‘Dementia Care Matters works with care providers with the aim of improving the quality of life for residents of care homes – not only for those with dementia, but also for the other residents living in the same home.’

RMBI’s Ecclesholme care home honoured at Apprenticeship Awards Evening – Freemasonry Today

An RMBI care home in Ecclesholme has received an award for its ongoing work to support students in the local community Each year for the past five years, the RMBI’s Ecclesholme care home in Manchester has enrolled two students from Salford City College onto its 12-month apprenticeship scheme. During this time the students, who are also completing their National Vocational Qualifications in care, work alongside RMBI staff to gain experience in the sector. They are encouraged to take part in the in-house training, which is mandatory for all RMBI staff, and tutors from the college visit the home to carry out assessments. The care home was selected for an award by Salford City College in recognition of its continued support and commitment to the apprenticeship programme. Speaking about the scheme, Beverley Niland, Ecclesholme Home Manager, said: ‘We are delighted to have been selected as the winner of this award. We have found the programme very successful and in most cases the students take up permanent employment with us after completion of their course.’ Staff from Ecclesholme received the award at the Apprenticeship Awards Evening hosted by Mark Jenkins of Channel 4’s The Hotel. In addition to the scheme with Salford City College, the care home also works closely with two local schools to provide work experience for a couple of students on a weekly basis. The students support the home’s activities coordinator, helping to plan and implement engaging and stimulating activities for residents.

Signed sealed delivered – Freemasonry Today

When Freemasons’ Hall welcomed actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Ian McKellen and Tom Hiddleston into the Grand Temple, Jessica Hopkins was in the audience to listen to messages of love and anguish in Letters Live Without words we’d be forever fumbling in the dark; letters throw light wherever they are cast.’ And so opens a night of extraordinarily moving literary entertainment at Freemasons’ Hall. It began as a simple idea: a website dedicated to photos of remarkable letters from the past, accompanied by transcriptions and introductions. Letters of Note then became something of a Twitter sensation before becoming a hardback anthology and then morphing into Letters Live. This year’s five-night live performance spectacular at London’s Freemasons’ Hall in April saw a glittering line-up of performers read against the glorious Art Deco backdrop of the Grand Temple. While events at Freemasons’ Hall do tend to be bespoke, one-off occasions, Letters Live offered the chance to do something quite different. ‘It was unique and like nothing we had done before,’ explains Karen Haigh, Head of Events at the Hall. ‘Even though I knew we could do it, I also realised that we had never done anything on this scale.’ With 7,500 tickets sold, more than 40 performers treading the boards and some 100 letters read aloud – not to mention an unexpected fire blazing beneath the streets of nearby Holborn – it was no small feat to pull off. When the Holborn fire forced Freemasons’ Hall to cancel the Wednesday performance, many of those scheduled to read that night came along to the Thursday show instead, creating a dream playbill: a who’s who of the stage and screen scene.