THE MASONIC PROVINCE OF YORKSHIRE WEST RIDING

Six Yorkshire organisations will this month (May) share a £123,000 “major grants” windfall from the region’s Freemasons.
 
The financial donations which range in value from £10,000 to £38,000 – will be presented to the recipients at the Freemasons’ Province of Yorkshire West Riding’s annual meeting, being held at Harrogate’s Royal Hall on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 7.
 
Representatives from the six organisations will be presented with their individual cheques by the fraternity’s Provincial Grand Master, David S Pratt, at the event which will be attended by hundreds of Freemasons from Yorkshire’s four counties and further afield.
 
Those organisations receiving grants are:

• Martin House Children’s Hospice, based in Boston Spa, will receive £38,000 to buy a new specialist adapted vehicle to transport up to three children and a carer. It will also accommodate children in their increasingly more complex wheelchairs
• The Northwest Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre – Green Meadows School, Guiseley – has been awarded £25,000 to help create and equip an outdoor play facility
• Old Earth School, based in Elland, is being given £20,000 towards an all-weather sports pitch and running track for use by the school and the local community
• Bramley Elderly Action, based in Bramley, will receive £20,000 to enable them to replace their existing 18-year-old minibus ensuring that immobile elders able to get out and about
• Mission Trinity, based in Goole, is getting £10,000 to relocate and equip its food bank
• Paces Sheffield, based in Sheffield, will receive £10,000 to purchase a range of specialist school equipment, enabling children to develop their skills and confidence to achieve maximum levels of physical, social and emotional independence.

 
Provincial Grand Master David S Pratt, said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present these six different, yet equally deserving, organisations with their grants, and I look forward to doing so at our Provincial Grand Lodge annual meeting next week in Harrogate.
 

​“This money has all been raised by individual Freemasons from throughout our Province, and I am extremely grateful for their generosity and continued support of one of our three grand principles, namely charity.
 
“Charity is, and always has been, at the heart of Freemasonry, and it will continue to be so for as long as our ancient and honourable institution exists.”
 
Sarah Smith from Martin House said: “We are delighted to receive the support of the Freemasons, and this vehicle will make a huge difference to us. It will enable us to take children and young people on more trips and outings, helping them to enjoy more activities and make precious memories during their stays at Martin House.”
 
For Further Information, please contact:
David Simister, Different PR, on 08453 892 626

Harrogate & Claro Freemasons have tuned into the needs of Harrogate Hospital Radio by securing them a £3,000 donation to help purchase hundreds of internet radios.
 
Last year, Harrogate Hospital NHS Trust’s strategic decision not to renew its contract with the provider of the bedside-entertainment system had a massive impact on the charity broadcaster.
 
As a result of the loss of facility, the only way patients can now listen to the in-house radio station is on smart phones and tablets via the internet or an app.
 
Harrogate Hospital Radio, which first took to the airwaves in October 1977, has had to radically rethink the way it provides its service to patients, and is now looking at broadcasting its services across the wards and public areas through wi-fi radios.
 
The charity was faced with a dilemma as the cost to achieve this was far outside its budget.
 
However, John Birkenshaw, Harrogate & Claro Lodge charity steward, became aware of the situation and made an application to the Freemasons Province of Yorkshire West Riding’s Provincial Grand Master’s Fund, to help purchase sufficient radios for patients within the hospital.
 
Mark Oldfield, Harrogate Hospital Radio Chairman, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to pieces. This generous grant of £3,000 could not have come at a better time. We would like to pass on our thanks to all the Freemasons involved in this great act of kindness.
 
“They have certainly tuned into our needs and the needs of our listeners, namely patients within Harrogate District Hospital.”
 
Darren Bush, the Worshipful Master of Harrogate & Claro Lodge, said: “This is exactly the type of local charity that we, as Masons in Harrogate, want to support.
 
“The purchase of these radios will provide great comfort and support to patients in hospital on their road to recovery and means Harrogate Hospital Radio can continue providing the service it has done for more than 40 years.”
 

​​Youth groups, a charity broadcaster and a Sikh society are amongst 19 Yorkshire organisations to receive a share of £33,000 - courtesy of the Freemasons.

The donations, ranging from £500 to £3,000, come from the Province of Yorkshire West Riding’s Provincial Grand Master’s Fund, which each year gives grants to good causes in West, South, East and North Yorkshire, totalling some £200,000.

In addition to “minor” grants – which range between £500 and £5,000 and are given on a quarterly basis  - “major” grants, which can be in excess of £30,000, are awarded once a year and presented at the fraternity’s annual May meeting at Harrogate’s Royal Hall.

Those to benefit from the latest round of grant giving include:

• Harrogate Hospital Radio - £3,000 to continue providing service they need by install Wi-Fi radios to each hospital bed

 

• Crowlees CE Junior & Infants School, Mirfield - £2,925 to purchase a high-quality marquee to be used as an outdoor classroom

 

• Headway Rotherham (a brain injury support group and a registered charity) - £2,000 to replace their obsolete photocopier essential for providing information to their clients

 

• Leeds Regional Paediatric Cystic Fibrosis & Respiratory Centre - £2,250 to buy TV/DVD, Xbox and iPads for children in isolation during their treatment. These items will ease their anxiety and stress

 

• Sikh Soldier Organisation, Huddersfield - £1,000 to provide a bronze statue as a memorial to the Sikh soldiers who died in both World Wars

 

David S Pratt, The Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Yorkshire West Riding, said: “Once again, I’m delighted that our society has been able to benefit no fewer than 19 different organisations across Yorkshire.

“These donations are only possible thanks to the continued generosity of our members, and to them I’m eternally grateful. Charity is one of Freemasonry’s three great pillars, and it’s wonderful that we can help so many different community groups in their own fund-raising activities.”

The Province of Yorkshire West Riding is based on the old West Riding, geographically ranging from Sheffield in the South to Ripon in the North and Goole in the East to Waddington in the West.

Additional information regarding the Freemasons Province of Yorkshire West Riding is available from its website https://www.wrprovince.org.uk/


For Further Information, please contact:

David Simister, Different PR, on 08453 892 626
 

Minor Grants Recipients
Total awarded: £33,535