The 12 month period ending this September was the first clear year after the 2004 Festival for individual Lodges to review their charitable prioritories and give freely to causes that are close to their local interests. From the information described below this seems to have happened and a magnificent sum of £155,186 has been made to various non-Masonic charities and good causes of our choice.

You may be surprised to see that a few donations to the Tsunami disaster still feature in the schedule below. It would appear that there were a small number that went via the Red Cross independently and not through the EKPCA. A cross reference has been made and none have been duplicated. The information that is used to compile the figures below originated from individual Lodge Secretaries and Charity Stewards when they complete their section of the Annual Installation report which goes to the Provincial Grand Secretary. As mentioned in previous years it is of great help in the analysis if the names of the various charities are correct and clearly written. In all 110 different charities were identified and their names with the total amount donated to each is described below.

Seventy seven received less that £250. These have not been named but are grouped together in the summary under the heading of ‘other deserving charities’. The figures in brackets after the amounts donated are the number of Lodges that have donated to that particular vote. In addition to these generous donations it has been necessary for a significant number of Lodges to take this opportunity to give serious consideration to the fabric and structure of their Masonic Centres and make financial contributions for refurbishment and repairs. The term ‘charity begins at home’ sometimes seems a bit empty, but the well being and safety of our Centres (many of which are charities in their own right) is, of course, of paramount importance and the period between festivals is an ideal time to address such matters.

I hope this information is of interest and informative to Lodges when considering their future donations and thank the Charity Stewards for their continued annual contribution to this regular article.

WBro Brian Dale PSGD,APGM

Ed45, p7