Freemasons gift 15 Yorkshire hospices grants totaling £21k

Fifteen Yorkshire hospices have received donations totaling £21,920 from the Freemasons.
 
The grants from The Province of Yorkshire West Riding came through the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF).
 
Those to benefit are:

• Barnsley Hospice, Barnsley                                                 £890
• Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, Sheffield                 £1,732
• Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, Huddersfield          £1,173
• Kirkwood Hospice, Huddersfield                                       £1,584
• Manorlands Hospice Sue Ryder Care, Keighley            £1,535
• Marie Curie Centre Bradford, Bradford                             £1,184
• Martin House Children's Hospice, Wetherby                  £1,798
• Overgate Hospice, Elland                                                     £988
• Prince of Wales Hospice, Pontefract                                 £1,086
• Rotherham Hospice, Rotheram                                          £1,486
• Saint Michael's Hospice, Harrogate                                  £1,290
• St Gemma's Hospice, Leeds                                               £2,528
• St Luke's - The Sheffield Hospice, Sheffield                  £1,780
• Wakefield Hospice, Wakefield                                           £1,184
• Wheatfields Hospice - Sue Ryder, Leeds                        £1,682

 
In total 237 grants have been given to hospices around the country totaling £600,000.
 
This includes £300,000 which will be distributed to each hospice that receives less than 60 per cent funding from the NHS. A further £300,000 will be provided to individual hospices across England and Wales via Hospice UK, the national charity for hospice care. 
 
Additionally, MCF is partnering with Hospice UK to develop and extend bereavement support services in hospices.
 
Contributions from Freemasons to hospices have exceeded £13m in England and Wales since 1984 and are continuing to increase at a rate of £600,000 a year.
 
David S Pratt, the Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Yorkshire West Riding, said: “I’m very pleased we’ve been able to assist these 15 hospices.
 
“They do an outstanding job helping people with terminal or life limiting conditions, as well as supporting their families through very difficult times.”