BERKSHIRE Freemasons, as part of its 300th anniversary celebrations, handed a cheque for £25,000 to the Bruce Trust on Saturday October 21.
The Bruce Trust was chosen following a public vote, with more than 3,500 Berkshire residents voting for the charity.
Founding trustee of The Bruce Trust David Bruce said: “We are thrilled with this generous award from Berkshire Freemasons and it will help us to pay for the major refurbishment projects we have planned in order to further enhance our fleet of four boats”
The leader of Berkshire Freemasons Martin Peters said: “We are delighted to be able to celebrate 300 years of Freemasonry by helping excellent local charities like The Bruce Trust.
“We’ve been active in charity work for all that time, but this is the first occasion we’ve asked the public to help us decide how to spend our money.
“We are very pleased that so many people from Berkshire took part in the vote.”
The Bruce Trust, founded by David and Louise Bruce in 1988, owns a fleet of four specially-designed, purpose-built, wide-beam canal boats, for hire for self-catering, self-steer holidays by disabled, disadvantaged or elderly people along with their family, friends or carers.
The boats are based at Great Bedwyn Wharf on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and to date more than 20,000 disabled, disadvantaged or elderly people have enjoyed canal-cruising holidays.
The Masonic Charitable Foundation is distributing £3m to 300 charities across the country, with the public vote deciding on the range of awards, from £4,000 to £25,000.
All the funding is raised by Freemasons, their families and friends.