St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth granted £1,600 by the Freemasons
Emily Paton of St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth can be seen here receiving a certificate celebrating the grant of £1,600 donated by the Freemasons of Devonshire presented by Nicholas Ball, Deputy Head of the Devon Freemasons. This forms part of the annual donation made by the Devonshire Freemasons and the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) who have this year given £10.350 to eight hospices in Devon.
St Luke’s has been caring for thousands of terminally ill patients, 24 hours, 7 days a week for over 30 years and their passion and dedication to offer dignity and choice has never dwindled. The hospices vision is a community, where no person has to die alone in pain or distress. Caring for local people, no matter where, at home, in hospital, or in the specialist unit at Turnchapel Plymouth.
Nicholas Ball said when presenting the cheque “The Freemasons of Devon are delighted that in conjunction with the MCF they have been able to continue to provide vital funding for our local hospices, the care and support they provide for the community is amazing, we are delighted that we are able to show our dedication towards their ever growing need for support within the community”.
A total of 203 hospices throughout England and Wales receive each year donations totalling over £750,000. Since 1984 the Masonic Charitable Foundation have given £14 million in support of hospices. This includes £300,000 which has been distributed to each hospice that receives less than 60% funding from the NHS. A further £450,000 will be provided to the national charity for hospice care, Hospice UK, in partnership with the MCF aim of widening access and address barriers to local hospice services to ensure they are accessible to everyone.
Over the last 21 years the Freemasons of Devonshire’s 131 lodges have combined with the Masonic Charitable Foundation to give total donations to St Luke’s amounting to over £114,000 a figure they can all be very proud of.
Emily Paton Fundraising Manager of St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth said: "We are very grateful to the Freemasons for their donation and continued support year on year. This donation will help us continue to provide compassionate care and support to our patients and their families, keeping our nurses on the roads to reach out to people at home and providing the specialist care on the wards in Derriford Hospital and our specialist unit in Turnchapel. Thank you.”
The Coronavirus Pandemic has added pressure to the services provided by hospices which translated into an increase in the costs required to cover those needs. St. Luke’s have a range of ideas to stimulate giving by the members of the community including initiatives like “Sponsor a Nurse” which I feel could be of interest to some of our lodges, “Payroll Giving” & the “St. Luke’s Lottery” details of which can be found on their website
