CHARITY

Right Column Faith and hope 4772

From its earliest days, Freemasonry has been concerned with the care of orphans, the sick and the aged. This work continues today. Taken collectively, Freemasonry is the biggest giver to Charitable causes in the world.
 

 

Masonic Charitable Foundation -
A new charity for Freemasons, for families, for everyone.

The Masonic Charitable Foundation will be established from 1st April 2016, bringing together the charitable activities of the four existing central Masonic Charities, which are summarised below.
 
The Masonic Charitable Foundation will continue to offer the same support and services to those Freemasons and family members who need help, as well as support for the non-Masonic charitable causes that the Craft wishes to assist.

The Masonic Charitable Foundation will be one of the largest charities in the country and will rely on the continued generosity of Freemasonry for its funds. Further information about the Masonic Charitable Foundation will be made available over the next few months. 
http://mcf.org.uk/

 

The Freemasons' Grand Charity (FGC) is a grant-making charity which supports people in need. Ever year, grants are made totaling about £8 million. The Charity continues a commitment to charitable support that began nearly 300 years ago in the earliest days of organized Freemasonry. All of the money distributed is provided by Freemasons and their families, mainly through an annual contribution made by individual Masons and fundraising 'Festivals' held each year. Grants fall into three main categories:
- Masonic Grants: Assistance for Masons and their family who are experiencing hardship, including the provision of mobility equipment;

- Non-Masonic Grants: Support for the important work of national charities of all sizes, concentrating on medical research, vulnerable people and opportunities for deprived young people, including a special programme of support for Hospices and disaster relief work worldwide; and


- Other Masonic charities: When justifiable needs arise, the FGC will support the work of the other national Masonic charities.

www.grandcharity.org

 

The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys helps children and young people in many ways through a variety of different funds and projects.  The main work of the Trust is to assist Masonic families who have experienced a change in their circumstances that has led to financial hardship. This could be, for example, following the ill health or death of a parent. The main way the Trust helps is by providing ongoing financial support to relieve poverty and advance education. This commitment remains in place until either the young person has completed their education or until the financial circumstances have improved sufficiently.
www.rmtgb.org

 

The Masonic Samaritan Fund was established in 1990 for the relief of suffering and sickness in respect of Freemasons, their wives, children or dependants, or the widows, children or dependants of deceased Freemasons. The interests and needs of each applicant will be paramount in determining how and where relief will be granted. The terms of the Trust Deed under which the Fund is required to operate require that relief can only be provided to applicants who demonstrate that the cost of private healthcare would be a financial burden and who are otherwise unable to obtain treatment on the National Health Service without undue delay. The MSF will support a petitioner who needs general surgery if the wait for NHS treatment is three months or more or will intervene if the wait for cardiac surgery is two months or more.
The Fund had supported treatment for over 9,000 individuals ranging in age from 6 months to 104 years. This involved allocating grants totaling over £55 million. Whilst many of the conditions funded via the MSF may be associated with advancing years - hip and knee joint replacements, cataracts and prostate problems - funding can be available for everything from scans to major heart surgery. Although painful and often distressing, such complaints are not life threatening and often involve a long wait on the NHS. The Fund will not provide support in emergency or life threatening cases where the NHS will deal with it promptly and efficiently.
Applicants do not need to be financially destitute to qualify for assistance. In establishing the financial need MSF will take account of both income and capital but will not include the value of your home. Allowances are made for certain items of expenditure and for reasonable savings.
www.msfund.org.uk

 

 

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution is a major provider of high quality services for older people and over 1,000 Freemasons and their dependants live in their seventeen Homes located throughout England and Wales, many of which are registered for both residential and nursing care. All Homes can accommodate people who may be becoming a little confused but where specialist care for people with mental frailty is needed special house groups within a Home have been created. Over 3,000 people living in the community receive some form of pastoral care. The Care Advice Team visit annuitants and recipients of Masonic Relief Grants at least once and people with particular needs more frequently.
www.rmbi.org.uk

 

Warwickshire Charities
The Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire administers many charitable funds, the principal ones of which are the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund and the Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association Limited. The objects of the WMBF are to provide relief to needy Freemasons of the Province, their widows or partners, their children and any spinster sisters. The Management Committee of the Charity Board of the WMBF meets on a quarterly basis to consider petitions for relief submitted by Lodge Almoners, although the Provincial Grand Almoner also has power to make emergency grants. WMBF relies heavily on regular donations from Lodges and Chapters in the Province to enable it to carry out its charitable work.

WMCA Ltd was formed to manage the various legacies bequeathed to the Province and more recently to deal with the reclamation of Gift Aid as a result of charitable donations. It also distributes substantial sums on an annual basis to non-Masonic charities which operate within the Province. These charities must apply for assistance and provide audited accounts.

 

lodge of faith and hope 4772

Lodge of Faith & Hope No. 4772 – Charities we Support.

 

At each Lodge meeting, all present contribute to a collection in favour of a particular charity.  We often support one of the charities mentioned above, and also our own chosen charities that members nominate.  One of the organisations we have supported for many years is the Wilson Stuart Cub Pack, based in Erdington, Birmingham, which is a pack catering for disabled youngsters.  This link is to an article recently published on the Provincial website, which describes our last donation to this very worthwhile cause.   http://www.warwickshirepgl.org.uk/2012-lodge-chronology/bats-for-cubs

Other Charities we have supported in recent years include:

Cancer Research Association

Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Three Counties Air Ambulance

Glaucoma Research Association

Acorns Children’s Hospice

Alzheimer’s Research Association

Guide Dogs for the Blind

British Lung Foundation