Freemasons amongst the first to pledge help to Haiti

14th January 2010

A major earthquake took place in Haiti on 12th January 2010. The 7.3-magnitude quake, Haiti’s worst in two centuries, struck at 1653 local time (2153 GMT) toppling buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and burying many of the residents in rubble. At least 50,000 people are feared dead, and up to 3 million have been affected.

The President of The Freemasons’ Grand Charity has approved a grant of £20,000 to the British Red Cross, who have already begun working on an emergency response in Haiti. Red Cross volunteers are currently assisting the injured and supporting hospitals who do not have enough capacity to deal with this emergency. A group of experts in disaster response, health in emergency and logistics have been sent to support the Haitian Red Cross in the relief efforts and to begin to coordinate international assistance from members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as well as other organisations. In addition, a Red Cross team will lead a damage assessment together with the Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Union.

£10,000 has also been awarded to Plan International in support of their efforts in dealing with the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Plan International’s priorities are assisting children and their families and getting people into safe accommodation wherever possible, as well as working with survivors to help ease their psychological trauma.

Donations through the Grand Charity are now possible from this web site by clicking on the image to the right

Riding for the Disabled is one of the charities that is benefiting from matched fundin

The Freemasons’ Grand Charity is doubling donations from local and provincial lodges to charities. A newly launched scheme lets Provincial Grand Lodges nominate gifts made by local lodges to charity. The Freemasons’ Grand Charity then matches the money raised.
Up to £5,000 is available to each province invited to participate.

Organisations like Macmillan Cancer Support, British Heart Foundation, SENSE, Help for Heroes, NSPCC and RNLI are among the beneficiaries of the scheme.
This matched funding scheme started as a pilot, but proved so popular that it is to become a permanent part of The Freemasons’ Grand Charity’s programme of non-masonic giving.
Over a four-year cycle, The Freemasons’ Grand Charity will be inviting every Provincial and Metropolitan Grand Lodge to participate. Around £60,000 will be available to match local donations. Almost all gifts to national charities working for vulnerable people, youth opportunities and medical research will be eligible for consideration. This includes money for local branches of organisations which have a national presence and charities based in the UK with beneficiaries overseas.
The lodges involved in the pilot scheme were delighted to see their donations doubled. The extra money meant more benefit for the charities they were supporting through their own fundraising work. The Freemasons’ Grand Charity is looking forward to helping more lodges to double their gifts.

Providing Mobility Equipment

Would a stairlift, mobility scooter, riserrecliner chair or powered wheelchair make your life easier? Then why don’t you join the hundreds of Freemasons and their dependants who have had mobility equipment provided to them by The Freemasons’ Grand Charity?
As part of the support provided by The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, a wide range of mobility equipment is available free of charge to qualifying applicants. As a guide, masons and their dependants in receipt of support from the State, such as Pension Credit, are likely to be eligible. The Charity considers every case on its merits and helps hundreds of people every year.
In addition to providing the equipment, the Charity covers the costs of insuring and maintaining it. The user does not need to pay a penny. Even if you do not qualify for free equipment, you may still be eligible for a significant discount on the price of items purchased via the Charity’s supplier. It really is worth contacting the Charity to see if they can help you.
For more information on how The Freemasons’ Grand Charity may be able to help you with mobility equipment, contact your Lodge Almoner, Provincial Grand Almoner or The Freemasons’ Grand Charity on 020 7395 9261.

Reproduced from Freemasonry Today