Leon Whitfield from the Freemasons and Arthur English from Lymington Hospital Friends
Lymington New Forest Hospital was presented with almost £3,000 from local Freemasons who collected the money during lockdown.
Funds were also raised for Bournemouth Hospital and individual lodges donated to other charities during the pandemic.
Members were innovative in their fundraising efforts; some slept out in tents, others made and sold lapel pins and several online competitions were held.
Leon Whitfield from the Freemasons presented a cheque for £2,821.25 to Arthur England, Trustee and Joint Chair of Lymington Hospital Friends.
Arthur said: “We really appreciate and value the magnificent fundraising by the local Freemasons to support our hospital, patients and staff during this challenging time.
“Due to COVID security guidelines, we have not been able to provide our normal volunteering services, but continue to fundraise for additional equipment to enable the hospital to enhance patient care and treatment for the local community.”
Leon added: “One of the main activities of the Freemasons is our support for charitable causes in the community and during the lockdown our members raised money for local hospital staff and key workers.
“Promoting health and well-being amongst our members and in the local community is an important part of what we do.
“We value the chance to provide ongoing support for the work of the hospital to care for our local community.”
Editor’s note:
There are around 9,000 Freemasons in Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and over 250 Lodges. Although Freemasonry has been an open and transparent organisation for some time, there are still many misconceptions. Essentially, Freemasonry is a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values based on integrity, kindness, honesty and fairness. It is one of the world’s oldest and largest non-religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable organisations.
For further information please contact:
Provincial and masonic information: Provincial Marketing Officer, Roger Maber, email: roger@guessens.com tel: 07802605499