Charity

Charitable giving plays an important part in the life of Masonic Lodges.

Freemasonry is the largest contributor to charity in England after the National Lottery.

However, while working on a national (and sometimes international) level Lodges support the local community and Andrew Marvell Lodge 5642 is no exception.

March 2024:

MCF & Festival '29

from Malcolm Forbes

Festival 29 will soon be taking centre stage as regards the Lodge's charitable activities. The Festival is due to begin in May 2024 and runs until 2029 but Brethren may now sign up to make donations to the Festival. 

Following three pre-launch initiatives where Lodges across the Province were invited to attend a presentation in Hull, York or Middlesborough in January and February, a letter from John Murphy, the Secretary of Festival 29, and a PowerPoint presentation summarising the discussions have been forwarded to the Brethren. Within this documentation is guidance on how to make donations online. Information on the Festival can be obtained from the website https//ynerfestival29.org.uk

The Festival is aiming to raise sufficient money from individual Brethren and Lodges to defray the cost of the benefits which the MCF provides across the Province. The Province is a net beneficiary of donations which the MCF makes so funds need to be topped up to allow the MCF to continue to provide the support it does. 

Individual Provincial Jewels can be purchased for £600 or £10 per month over a 5 year period. With gift aid donations this can be supplemented by 25%, so a £600 donation could rise to £725. Other merchandise such as ties, tie-pins, cuff-links and gloves can be purchased. These can be worn with immediate effect. 

In addition to the Lodge Charity Steward, the Worshipful Master, the Wardens and Lodge Almoner are central to the success of the Festival. Lodge Ambassadors, who will work with individual Lodges to provide assistance with the operation of the Festival, have been appointed. 

 Lodges can obtain the status of Grand Patron, Patron, or Vice Patron dependent on average donations per individual Lodge member. Thus, if donations average £900 per member Grand Patron status can be awarded - £600 per member confers Patron status - £300 per  member confers Vice Patron status. 

Lodges are encouraged to be innovative in their fundraising for the Festival. Sponsored walks, bungee and parachute jumping come to mind (although I don't think I will be participating in the latter two activities). I welcome ideas from individual Brethren as to the type of events which would generate income for the Festival. 

I also welcome representations from individual Brethren who may wish the Lodge to support local initiatives outside the remit of Festival 29.

Community engagement is an important part of a Lodge's mission and any help which the Lodge can provide for the local community will raise the Lodge profile and appreciation of Freemasonry's charitable work. 

The website page will be updated to keep track of Festival 29 developments and initiatives and the Lodge's contribution to the Festival. 

Charity Evening – 25th September 2023

The Charity Evening notes by the current Charity Steward, W Bro Malcolm Forbes may be seen on the Blog Notes of this website. The following brief comments are by Eddie Wildman.

I was well impressed at the Charitable causes this year - and by the accompanying presentations of their representatives receiving donations. Malcolm Forbes has provided excellents notes on the blog page which I shall not reiterate; suffice it to say that Sarah Regan, manager of the Hull & East Yorkshire Centre for the Deaf spoke persuasively about the hidden disability of profound deafness, of sign language, and the important involvement of the Centre in providing social events, sports, clubs etc as well as communication in areas where explanations are needed.

Mel Leatherley's passion for helping those less fortunate than ourselves supplies a real need in the community. His gym brings together all sorts of people, many with additional needs, which is sometime's an hour's haven for parents and carers as children become involved in the various activities, sports developments and martial arts provided.

It was moving to hear of the ripple effect of the incurable Motor Neuron Disease, its victims and their families; Andrew Hancock and Kevin Hara spoke of the different support exercised in both areas, from bathroom adaptations to days out and post-mortem care.

I felt privileged this evening to have been amongst such caring people.

[Sarah Regan, Mel Leatherley, Andrew Hancock, Kevin Hara, Chris Lefevre (WM) and Malcolm Forbes (Charity Steward).] 

Eddie Wildman

The following notes are about the latest Andrew Marvell Charity Night organised by W Bro Andrew Peach, Lodge Charity Steward in 2022.

Charity Evening – 28th March 2022

Covid is still with us, alas, and yesterday the Charity Steward, W Bro Andrew V Peach PPJGW tested positive and so he and his wife were unable to attend the Charity Night at the Andrew Marvell Lodge. This was unfortunate, for Andrew has worked tirelessly in organising the event, and he generally presents the speakers who will receive Charitable donations from our Relief Chest for their particular charities. Andrew would undoubtedly have provided a more eloquent report than this write-up; please forgive my peurile efforts, but I am not so well informed as W Bro Peach about the local charities, though I learned a great deal this evening.

Following the brief Lodge meeting (see the Blog page for this date) the Brethren joined their wives, friends and invited guests where three presentations were made before dinner.

The first presentation, by two ladies, Sandra and Cath, was introduced by W Bro Chris Lefevre, who spoke of hedgehogs being an important part of our wildlife environment before handing over to the speakers. They explained that since the closure of Hedgehog Rescue in 2017 the volunteer Holderness Hedgehog Hospital nursed sick and injured hedgehogs before re-releasing them into the wild. Their advice on diet (saucers of milk are not good for hedgehogs - some varieties of cat food are ideal, as long as they don't contain mealworm) and their dismissal of the belief that hedgehogs are infested with fleas was interesting and enlightening. They spoke of global warming and climate change and its effect on erinaceinae ("the juveniles live with us as they are not strong enough to cope in the wild") and the cooperation of the neighbourhood in the saving of this increasingly endangered species.

The Worshipful Master then introduced Brian Riley who told everyone that he had been the Lions Council Chairman and that in 2017 he had organised an event to place 22,00 cans of food across the Humber Bridge to feed the hungry as part of the Lions' centenary celebrations. His wife Margaret had produced a bereavement kit for children who might have lost a loved one or a pet to help them deal with grief, and gave copies to Malcolm should anyone wish to read them. He dilated on books about protecting the environment, spoke of his support of the Candlelighters (Humber Lodge's Charity in 2020-21) and gave an Obituary to Common Sense from the London Times.

W Bro Malcolm Forbes then invited people to take their seats at the dinner tables so that everyone was able to see the screen set up for the next speaker, Mr Mark Kensett, son of W Bro Barry Kensett PPGSwdB, who introduced him. Mark spoke with quiet passion about the Hessle and Anlaby Food Bank, illustrating his words with images in a well-prepared Power Point presentation. Mark had even brought a typical food parcel, which, surprisingly, also contained toiletries and other items which this listener, for one, had always taken for granted. He explained that the national picture showed the increasing need for foodbanks between 2008 and 2021; there were now, he said, more food banks in the country than branches of McDonalds. To my personal delight as an avid reader of Terry Pratchet, he cited the Vimes Boot Theory as a means of explaining the precarious impoverished situation of an increasing number of people, His images of volunteers packing boxes in Hessle Community Centre, loading for distribution, and the amounts collected were both heart-warming and distressing. This was practical work to help those in need. He mentioned help from various chain stores such as Heron and Morrisons, and there were many suggestions from the floor before he concluded with his intentions that the Charity should become a community hub rather than merely a source of supplies.

After the acclamation afforded to the presenters, the Brethren served what W Bro Peach would undoubtedly describe as a sumptuous meal. The raffle afterwards raised £80, and the proceedings concluded at around 9:30 - it had been an interesting and enjoyable night, and I believe almost everybody went home with the satisfaction of knowing they were contributing to worthy causes, and also with the slightly uncomfortable awareness that there is always much more can be done.

Personally, but also on behalf of the WM and members of the Andrew Marvell Lodge 5642, I would like to thank Andrew Peach for his magnificent efforts in pulling all the above together. 

Below are links to the three charitable causes in Andrew Peach's words:

1. The Holderness Hedgehog Hospital whose aims and objectives are to relieve the suffering of sick and injured hedgehogs and, where appropriate, release them back into the wild.
2. The South Wolds Lions Club (which is part of the Lions Club of Pocklington) whose aims and objectives are the relief of the poor and needy, both locally and further afield.
3. The Hessle and Anlaby Food Bank whose aims and objectives are to support people in the Hessle, Anlaby and surrounding areas, who are in financial hardship, by operating a food bank and providing additional support including sign-posting to relevant advisory services.

 Eddie Wildman 

14th April 2022:

Here's the Andrew Marvell Lodge Charity Steward Andrew Peach presenting the cheque to the team at Hessle Food Bank, where the food is carefully organised, stored and readied for distribution. All the staff are volunteers: left to right, Joan Ayres, Dee Stephenson, Brenda Pool, Andrew Peach, Mark Kensett (Trustee), Ann Cross (Operations Manager and Trustee) and Annette Richardson. [Image ©Barry Kensett]

 --ooOoo--

Submenu

• Masonic Charitable Foundation