The 

Provincial Grand Lodge 

of Wiltshire

Charity Speech by

RW Bro Francis Wakem at Provincial Grand Lodge 5th October 2006

Ladies, Gentlemen and Brethren 

I am delighted to extend a very warm welcome to Mr Gregor McIntosh MS FRCS, Consultant Urological Surgeon at the Department of Urology, Salisbury District Hospital.

 A warm welcome to Natalie Prinsloo Fundraising and Voluntary Services Co-ordinator and Sue Howell Senior Sister Emergency Department at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and Rosie Grier Sister and Children’s Nurse Emergency Department and Sarah Davies Administrator for the A and E Department at Salisbury District Hospital and her young daughter Madeliene.

 I am also delighted to welcome 6 members of the Masonic Widows’ Association who are representing the three branches at Swindon, Chippenham and District and here at Salisbury.

 A warm welcome also to Mrs Val King wife of John King the new Almoner and Mrs Aileen Hurst wife of Jim Hurst the Charity Steward.  Thank you both for your considerable help today.

 Masonic Widows’ Association

 The three branches of the Masonic Widows’ Association continue to have full programmes.  I have the pleasure of attending all three Annual General Meetings and some of their lunches and meeting and talking to the members.  Members of the Association are very grateful for the financial support and offers of transport which they receive from supporting Lodges.  Many members have availed themselves of the opportunity of being invited (as paying guests) to Lodge Ladies’ Festivals and other social functions, which they thoroughly enjoy and which has enabled them to maintain an important and much valued link with their late husbands’ lodges and many old friends.  I am confident that all Lodges will wish to continue to  give their support to their local branch. 

Annual Church Service ~ Salisbury Cathedral

 The Annual Church Service was held last Sunday following the invitation from the Dean of Salisbury to attend Evensong at Salisbury Cathedral.  I am delighted to say that the Cathedral was filled with our voices and those of family and friends and the Masonic Widows’ Association - The Cathedral was packed – there was in the region of 1000 of us in the congregation – I have to say that it was a very moving experience. I was also honoured to be able to present to the Dean a cheque for £5,000 from the Freemasons Grand Charity.  Thank you all for your tremendous support. I also thank the Chaplain, the Reverend Gordon Mitchell, for all his work.

The Dean is very happy for us to attend on another occasion.

Charity - At this meeting last year I launched a new three year project to raise funds for three specific initiatives in Wiltshire and in Swindon.  

 I am delighted with the level of support which has already been given – so much so that the Trustees of the Charity have agreed that we can launch two of the initiatives today.  This is tremendous news - being two years earlier than I had planned, and is based on the trustee’s confidence that all Lodges will be in a position to give their support.  I hope to be in a position to make a grant to the Swindon Women’s Refuge either at this meeting next year, or, with your continued generous support to make the presentation at one of the Swindon Lodges much earlier in the year. 

Teddies for Loving Care – an initiative which was first identified by the wife of an Essex Freemason

 I am going to read something which could be words from a young person traumatised through illness or injury.

Aims and Objectives

This initiative has a simple objective.  For Freemasons to provide teddies or soft toys to A and E Departments:

o        For the medical staff to give, at their discretion, to children who are in distress

o        When the medical staff feel that a teddy to cuddle will help alleviate that distress

o        To assist the medical staff in their work

o        And the children take the teddies home with them.

The Almoner, John King will be administering the scheme.  He will be assisted by two members who will liaise with the two A and E Departments at Swindon and Salisbury to ensure the supply of teddies is maintained.

To mark the formal launch of the scheme I am delighted to present a teddy to our guests from the two A and E Departments and to Madeliene.  I will ask John King to assist me.

The teddies were presented.

The Nursing Sisters thanked Wiltshire Freemasons for their generosity for this invaluable initiative which would be used to assist the care of young people in their care.  

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the commonest cancer in men in the UK.  There are about 27,000 diagnosed each year and around 10,000 deaths.  That is one death every hour. Mr Gregor McIntosh – I am sure that many of my colleagues here today could well suffer the same anxiety as a young person.  So may I ask you to kindly accept this teddy.

We are very pleased to donate to your department, surgical systems vision equipment or equipment of your choice to the order of £20,000 to assist you in providing a service to your patients.

Mr Gregor McIntosh thanked Wiltshire Freemasons for their generosity and described the equipment he would be purchasing and how it would be used.  He acknowledged the previous generous support the Urology Department had received from Wiltshire Mark Master Masons

The Provincial Grand Master thanked you our guests for joining us and hoped that the presentations will assist with your work.

When the guests had retired, the Provincial Grand Master advised the Brethren that the Provincial Grand Charity Steward will be writing again to all Lodge Charity Stewards in the near future.  Some Lodges have already given considerable support – I hope to encourage all Lodges to give early support within their means – but perhaps to a figure of £1,500 over the years of the appeal.

Hopefully, the teddy bear scheme – with a little help from time to time – will be self financing.  If I can encourage you to purchase a bear for £5 or a lapel badge for £2.50 we can keep the stock of bears maintained at an appropriate level.

Note from Webmaster  - from information received 28th December 2006

Other Great News for Charity

Above left Francis Wakem with Alison Stevens at Dorothy House and right with Jane McCutchan at Prospect Hospice

Dorothy House is a charity, founded on Christian principles of care. All their services in the community and the hospice are provided free of charge and with equal access to all. The aim of Dorothy House is to offer physical, psychological, social and spiritual care to patients and their families facing life threatening illness, death or bereavement, who have specific problems, needing specialist skills. In partnership with all others involved, they focus on quality of life, respecting the uniqueness of each person and their family. They seek to promote the development of palliative care through education of others and research.

Prospect Hospice is a provider and centre of excellence for hospice and palliative care. They aspire to provide the highest quality of service which is responsive, flexible, needs-led and given in the patient's preferred place of care.

They are committed to making a positive difference to the experience of those facing an uncertain future following the diagnosis of a serious illness. Their multi-professional team works with and alongside patients and their families, striving to bring freedom from pain, dignity and peace at the end of life.

 Lifelites

More charity work for the Boys and Girls

'Lifelites' has been established to provide the latest IT (including multimedia services) to children in hospices in England and Wales The project arises from a donation of £7.5 million from the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys together with expertise from the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT). The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys' Millennium Fund sought to find a worthy cause consistent with its key objectives. The mission of the Trust is to continue to relieve poverty and to provide an education and preparation for life for the children of the family of a Freemason and, where funds permit, for any children, as their father would have done, had they been able to do so.