 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
| |||||
|
Quick Link to Last
updated |
|
 | £800 to the St. John Ambulance (Dronfield Combined Division), to be added to a similar contribution from Dronfield Lodge for the purchase of a defibrillator. |
|
£150 to Edward’s Trust, to pay for the provision of family bereavement support following the death of a child. |
|
£500 to the Royal School for the Deaf to assist with the refurbishment of workshops at their centre in Derby. |
A sponsorship grant of £320 paid to the local charity When you wish upon a Star had been returned due to a cancellation of the sponsored event. The Standing Committee unanimously agreed to send a cheque for £350 to enable the charity to send terminally sick children on a Christmas trip to Lapland.
The Masonic Music Foundation made the following grants :-
|
£1,500 to the Kinder Children’s Choirs of the High Peak for continued support towards a musical educational project previously assisted last year. |
|
£200 to the Wirksworth & District Music Lessons Fund, to assist with provision of music lessons for young people in the Wirksworth area. |
|
£1,000 to the daughter of a deceased former member of High Peak Lodge , to assist with the purchase of a viola. The child, who is a talented young musician, is also receiving £500 from the Lodge. |
A meeting of the Advisory Committee for Charity Stewards and Almoners was held on the same day, followed by the Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Charity.
The Provincial Grand Treasurer reported on the current financial position and advised members that total accumulated funds stood at £1.126M. He commented on the fall in interest rates which had adversely affected both the value of investments and earned interest.
The total amount of seasonal relief paid to widows of former brethren at Christmas and on their birthdays amounted to about £16,500 during the last year, while £620 had been paid out of the Albert Wilson Fund to assist needy brethren with the payment of subscriptions.
The accrued funds held by the Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys towards the 2003 Festival stood at £1.067M, including added interest to 31st December 2001.
The Provincial Charity Steward reminded members that, while many brethren have now qualified for attendance at the Festival and paid the Steward’s Fee, they had not yet included their ladies. If you have not yet done so and wish to attend next June please speak to your Lodge Charity Steward who will advise you on the procedure.
He also advised that the Standing Committee had approved a reduction in the sale price of Festival ties, from £6 to £4, and that the Provincial Grand Master had authorised the wearing of ties after the Festival has taken place. If you are holding any unsold stocks of ties or lapel pins please return them as soon as possible, so that they can be redistributed.
The Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro. David Law advised members that he was a trustee of the Albert Wilson Fund and that the Fund might be used to make a grant of £30,000 to Ashgate Hospice, towards the provision of a new ward, a scheme already approved by the Advisory Committee.
He also reported on the possible use of another fund of which he was a trustee, the May Hearnshaw Fund, and suggested that this might be used towards the purchase of an ambulance for the St. John’s Ambulance, subject to agreement by his fellow trustees. Both suggestions met with acclamation by all the brethren present. Watch this space!
The Chairman of the Standing Committee, W. Bro. Brian Quartermain, announced that the MTGB Festival would now be held at the Assembly Rooms, Derby on 4th June 2003. Further details of the arrangements will be circulated to Lodges as soon as possible.
The Annual Meeting, held under the Chairmanship of the Grand President, R.W. Bro. David Law, received the annual report of the Chairman which set out the activities of the Provincial Grand Charity during the year to 30th June 2002, a copy of which can be seen on the Provincial website alongside these notes.
Graham M. Sisson
Secretary
|
