2008 Provincial Church Service

The Annual Provincial Church Service for 2008 was held at Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, on Saturday 25 October.

Provincial Grand Master, Captain Sir Norman Lloyd Edwards, KCVO, GCStJ, RD*, RNR, expressed his gratitude to all those who attended, and particularly those who devised and took part in an impressive and inspiring Act of Collective Worship.

The service is held different venues around the Province each year.

The collection at this year's event raised £550 which will be donated to the Cathedral Organ Appeal, along with whatever can be reclaimed from the Exchequer in Gift Aid.

Nearly £2 million given to non-Masonic causes

Nearly £2 million is to be dedicated to helping charities delivering opportunities for young people, supporting vulnerable people and researching the cause and treatment of illness and disease. The grants to seventeen national charities were approved by hundreds of Freemasons at a General Meeting of The Freemasons’ Grand Charity held in Bournemouth.

The organisations that will benefit from the generous sum include the Scout Association which is set to receive £1/2 million as a contribution towards its KidsOutdoors Campaign and Ovarian Cancer Action whose research and awareness work will be supported over five years through a £1 million donation.

The meeting also heard that the District Grand Lodge of Eastern Archipelago is to receive a grant of £15,000 towards its work with survivors of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). The grant will help to fund the building of three health clinics at Pyinkhayang, Myaugmya and Nadupaw.
For further information contact Natasha Treweek on 020 7395 9394.

Visit The Freemasons’ Grand Charity’s website at www.grandcharity.org


List of Grants approved:

MEDICAL RESEARCH

OVARIAN CANCER ACTION (£1 million over five years)
Research relating to the treatment of ovarian cancer and a programme to raise awareness of the illness amongst women. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and each year some 7,000 women are diagnosed with the disease.

DEAFNESS RESEARCH UK (£82,700 over two years)
Research into the transplantation of fibrocyte cells to combat age-related hearing loss. The research is a continuation of a successful pilot project funded by The Freemasons’ Grand Charity in September 2006.


YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES

THE SCOUT ASSOCIATION (£500,000 over five years)
A contribution towards the KidsOutdoors Campaign. The grant will help improve opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to access the physical, social and emotional benefits of outdoors activities and help to develop scouting across the country.

THE WHO CARES? TRUST (£25,000)
The Choice Matters interactive CD project aims to facilitate foster carers and residential care staff to enable children and young people to develop decision making skills, in order that they can make informed choices.

RALEIGH INTERNATIONAL (£15,600)
Supporting the youth agency partnerships programme working with other youth opportunities charities to enable disadvantaged young people to take up volunteering opportunities and achieve personal and life skills development.

REACH VOLUNTEERING (£15,000)
Support for organisations working with young people. The Youth Programme will promote and provide tailored support to organisations to help improve operational effectiveness, strengthen governance and achieve better sustainability, creating greater benefit to the young people and communities with which the organisations work.


VULNERABLE PEOPLE

NATIONAL AUTISTIC SOCIETY (£50,000)
Advocacy for Education service. The service enables parents to understand both their own and their children’s rights and obtain the most appropriate educational provision for their children. An estimated 520,000 people in England and Wales, 130,000 of whom are aged between 0-19, have an autism spectrum disorder.

WHIZZ-KIDZ (£40,000)
Salary of a Head Therapist. Whizz-Kidz’s mobility therapists work with disabled children and young people to enable them to get the most out of their mobility equipment and help them to take part in activities to which they would not otherwise have access.

THE ELIZABETH FOUNDATION (£30,000)
Building and development of a National Home Learning Programme and Demonstration Home for parents with newly diagnosed deaf babies and pre-school children. The Elizabeth Foundation supports infants and pre-school aged children with hearing loss and their families, by providing help, support and encouragement.

CHILDREN: OUR ULTIMATE INVESTMENT (UK) (£26,700)
The Teens and Toddlers programme. The innovative programme significantly reduces the occurrence of pregnancies amongst participating teenagers and is founded on creating an environment where at risk teenagers, both male and female, can experience first hand the demands of parent – child relationships and understand the implications of becoming a parent.

TRELOAR TRUST (£25,000)
Salary of a visual impairment adviser. Treloar Trust provides education, care, therapy, medical support and independence training to young people with physical disabilities. The visual impairment adviser works as part of a multi-disciplinary team to ensure that all aspects of a student’s learning and care are addressed, increasing independence, confidence and academic success.

ELIZABETH FITZROY SUPPORT (£15,000)
Salary of a coordinator for supported volunteering in the community. Elizabeth FitzRoy Support provides practical support for adults with learning disabilities. The supported volunteering initiative enables service users to become volunteers, fostering integration into local communities, the learning of new skills and improving independence and confidence.

COUNSEL & CARE (£15,000)
An advice worker to provide information, advice and emotional support to vulnerable older people and their carers. The Counsel & Care advice team deals with more than 2,500 enquiries every year answering many complex queries on community care issues faced by older people and their carers.

THE BRUCE TRUST (£10,000)
Towards the costs of a new canal boat. The Bruce Trust provides purpose-built, wide-beam canal boats for disabled, disadvantaged or elderly people and their carers, enabling them to enjoy a holiday.

CUED SPEECH ASSOCIATION UK (£10,000)
Information Plus Project. Cued Speech is a simple system of manual cues, which clarify lip reading. The Information Plus Project will disseminate information about cued speech and how it can be used, helping about 1,000 deaf children and 30 deaf adults to improve their literacy and communication skills.

ROYAL BLIND SOCIETY (£8,000)
Holidays at specially adapted hotels for blind and physically disabled children. The holidays provide a rare opportunity to be in an environment away from home, alongside other young people; this can help to give greater independence, encourage self-esteem and confidence and assist social and communication skills.

ST JOHN AMBULANCE AND RESCUE SERVICE (£5,000)
As a contribution towards the work of the St John Ambulance and Rescue Service in Guernsey.