At the 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Ormskirk Ladies Group held at the Masonic hall, treasurer Beryl Patterson was delighted to report that the group had given in excess of £960 to various charitable good causes over the last 12 months.
Diane (left) presents cheque for £200 to Martin Walsh with Brenda Hewitt (right).
The group membership is made up of wives, widows and partners of Freemasons in the Ormskirk Group of Lodges and Chapters and meet once a month from September to May to enjoy each other’s company over a two course meal at O’Brien’s Tea Rooms within the hall. This is a very sociable occasion and following the meal there is a talk from a guest speaker, and at the end of the evening a raffle is held with all the prizes being donated by members.
Chairperson, Diane Hampson, in her report said that the group will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next January which will be a very special occasion for the members. She then went on to say that everyone should be very proud of the excellent amount already given to charitable good causes during the year; the money being entirely raised from the proceeds of raffle tickets sales at the meetings. Diane thanked Barbara Westby and Erica Johnson, committee members, for their dedication in helping to raise funds by selling raffle tickets every month.
Recipients during the year have included; Ormskirk Masonic Hall Building Fund, Ormskirk Hospital Neonatal Fund, The Newborn Appeal in Merseyside, Hearing Dogs, Baby Beat Appeal in Preston, Diagnostic Medical Dogs and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool. At the March meeting of the ladies group, Martin Walsh coordinator for North West Blood Bikes Lancashire and Lakes gave a very informative talk on the work of the ‘bikers’. Martin was delighted to receive a cheque for £200 on behalf of the charity and thanked the members for their thoughtful generosity.
In addition to the £960 already distributed throughout the year, on the evening of the Annual General Meeting two further donations were made. The first being a cheque for an additional £100 presented to Nadia Alsafaar (Appeal Administrator) from The Newborn Appeal, Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Nadia thanked the members and gave an interesting talk about the work of the charity, launched in April 1992, their aim being to purchase specialised equipment for sick babies over and above the normal NHS provision in order to improve the quality of care in the Neonatal Unit.
The second donation was a cheque for £200 presented to Jacqui Kewley on behalf of Asthma (UK), in memory of her daughter Hannah who sadly passed away age 16 years in June 2014 having suffered from asthma all her short life. Hannah’s grandmother is a valued member of the ladies group. Jacqui thanked the members for their generosity and then gave an emotional tribute to her lovely daughter; this culminated in a respectful round of applause.
The ladies of the group are very proud of their charitable achievement with the fantastic total amount of £1,260 being given.
At the conclusion of the meeting Brenda Hewitt, secretary, announced that the last Tuesday meeting for the season was in May and said she looked forward to seeing everyone there. The members are also looking forward to a sumptuous afternoon tea in June at O’Brien’s Tea Rooms, for which an invitation has been extended to family and friends as this is an occasion not to be missed!
Pictured (left): Diane Hampson, Nadia Alsafaar, Erica Johnson and Barbara Westby. Pictured right: Diane Hampson, Jacqui Kewley, Brenda Hewitt and Beryl Patterson.
Brenda distributed copies of the new programme for September 2016 – May 2017 to the members present. Any lady with connections to the Ormskirk Group who would like to become a member would be made very welcome. For further information contact:
Diane Hampson (chairperson); [email protected]
Brenda Hewitt (secretary); [email protected]