Last week Asst PGM W.Bro Charlie Yelland, Charity Steward W.Bro Anthony Eldred and Press Officer Bro Alec Collyer visited the fourth of our Devon Hospices in Barnstable to have a chat and formally give them a certificate of the four thousand pounds jointly funded by Devonshire and the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF).
North Devon Hospice has a staggering catchment of around 800,000 square miles, yes miles. They are faced with the same pressures to funding as the other hospices in our region, with annual running costs of around £7.1 Million and with only about 24% coming from the NHS it’s a massive fundraising effort required. Their 13 Charity shops provide around £1.6M of their income, other fundraising is a Lottery, Legacies and Community events.
We always feel that ‘just’ £4000 is a drop in the ocean, but every penny helps !
Stephen Roberts (Chief Exec North Devon Hospice):
On behalf of the patients and loved ones we have the privilege of caring for I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for the amazing donation of £4,000! At a time when we face the perfect storm of rising costs and rising demand for our care, your kind donation means everything to our ability to look after people at the worst time of their lives. To ensure that Devonshire Freemasons truly understand where your support goes and the impact it will have on hundreds of families across North Devon, I only need to look at just one day here at North Devon Hospice. Your support has enabled us to:
Provide 24/7 medical and nursing care to 5 patients on our bedded unit, two of whom are young mothers below the age of 45. In so doing enable them to spend quality, pain free, time with their family and enable their families to fulfil the roles of husband and children not carers.
Enable our community nursing team to visit 35 people today in their own homes. In so doing keep them in the place they want to die in and avoid an unnecessary hospital admission and all the disruption and stress that that causes.
Enable us to run an after-school club called Twilight for primary school children who have a parent currently under our care. In so doing emotionally support them in dealing with the impending loss of one of their parents.
This is just one day. This is the care that you are making happen with your donation. For that I sincerely hope that Devon Freemasons are proud of this.
W.Bro Charlie Yelland (Asst PGM Devonshire Freemasons):
I feel very privileged that as a Freemason in Devon to be able to attend the North Devon Hospice and present them with a donation of £4000
The massive funding they need to raise each year just to function day to day is quite astounding.
But their commitment and level of care and support they provide to patients and families in this mostly rural area is quite humbling.
During my visit I read a sign in their new therapy wing …
“Always remember you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and twice as beautiful as you’ve ever imagined”
This really is a very very special place.
Charity has always been a core principle of Freemasonry, and Devonshire’s Freemasons www.devonshirefreemasons.org.uk contribute to the Masonic Charitable Foundation nationally www.mcf.org.uk .
Over the last 300 years Freemasons have established a number of charities – including schools, care homes and a hospital. The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) was created in 2016 and brought together the work of four separate charities: The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, The Masonic Samaritan Fund and the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution
Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country.
We build better lives by enabling opportunity, advancing healthcare and education and promoting independence.
Alec Collyer MBE, Press Officer Devonshire Freemasons