Leeds Freemasons answer call to bring Festive cheer to city’s children’s charities.

Brethren of the Castle Grove Masonic Lodges, Leeds, once again rose to the occasion to make their Annual Toy and Gift Appeal an incredible success; resulting in an avalanche of cash donations totalling in excess of £2,700 plus donations of brand-new toys and clothing.
 
The annual appeal was launched in November 2018, with the intention of bringing the various Castle Grove Lodges together, to provide something tangible to young people in the local community.

Initially, the toys and gifts were to be donated to Leeds Children’s Hospital, however, the response proved so overwhelming that, in 2020, the number of charity recipients increased to six, including Leeds Children’s Hospital, The Leeds Children’s Charity, Leeds Baby Bank, Barnardo’s and the Leeds Jewish Welfare Board, which received Chanukah gifts for 24 children under its care.

Amanda Burdon Family Outreach Support Worker at LJWB commented, “We are delighted to receive the generous donation of toys and gifts from Graham and Robert on behalf of the Castle Grove Lodges. This year has been an extremely difficult year for our families with many struggling with social isolation caused by the pandemic. I am sure everyone of our families will greatly appreciate the kind thoughts and donation of gifts from the Castle Grove Masonic Lodges for their children at Chanukah.”

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Toy Appeal co-ordinator Graham Shiers (pictured left) said, “Normally, Brethren and Lodges mainly donate toys and gifts, however, as we were unable to meet due to the Covid-19 situation, we asked for financial donations and purchased the gifts on their behalf.”
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“Since launching the appeal in October, the response was overwhelming. We were inundated with financial donations, which we used to buy toys and gifts, including pyjamas and clothing.  It also enabled us to provide items including nappies, nappy sacks, baby wipes, baby shampoo and wash, plus other essentials that the Leeds Baby Bank distributed to families in need over the holiday season.  We were also able to help four families via Homeless Street Angels.”

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