Leeds Freemasons receive very warm reception to “cool” £2,500 hospice donation

Ice One Loyalty Lodge!  Pictured from left are Ed Morris, Loyalty Lodge Charity Steward; Lucy Vernon, St Gemma's Senior Fundraiser; and David Brazil, Master of Loyalty Lodge

A Leeds Masonic lodge has received a very warm reception from a local hospice to a “cool” £2,500 donation!
 
Members of Loyalty Lodge, which meets in Castle Grove, Headingley, answered a call of help from St Gemma's Hospice, in Moortown, which was looking to purchase an industrial ice machine.
 
Whilst ice is used by the hospice to not only to chill drinks - but to soothe patients’ mouths and throats, and to fill packs to cool those with high temperatures - the cost of a new unit came with a hefty price tag.
 
For its part, Loyalty Lodge successfully applied to the Province of Yorkshire West Riding’s Provincial Grand Master’s (PGM’s) Fund for a grant of £2,500 to help buy the equipment.
 
Each quarter, this fund allocates grants ranging from a few hundred pounds up to £5,000 to charities and organisations in its membership area, which encompasses West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and parts of East and North Yorkshire.
 
Annually, it gives financial support totalling £200,000, which comes solely from the generosity of its members at lodge nights and from fund-raising activities.
 
Loyalty Lodge Charity Steward Ed Morris said: “St Gemma’s is a much loved and valued hospice, and one that offers support and comfort to terminally ill people and their families from across Leeds.
 
“When we heard they were looking to buy a new ice-making machine, we applied to the PGM’s fund to pay for one, and I’m delighted to say it was successful.
 
“Charity has been at the very heart of Freemasonry since its foundation, which in this province dates back more than 200 years.
 
“Our members, who all live and work in the local area, are incredibly community minded, and they like nothing better than helping support charities and good causes in Leeds.”