At a recent meeting held in the Lodge, David Bird and Mike Locke, both members of Courtland Masonic Lodge, which meets in Courtland Road Paignton, presented a cheque for £ 1000 to Debbie Shotton, the Community Fund Raising Manager at Rowcroft Hospice. The money had been raised by David Bird and the members of the Lodge in memory of David's wife, who had been cared for by the home care team of Rowcroft Hospice.
The Freemasons of Devonshire and their London headquarters, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), have been long-term supporters of Rowcroft Hospice. This includes individual donations made by many of the 124 Lodges that meet throughout the county and, in conjunction with the Masonic Charitable Foundation, have donated over £110,000 since 2000.
On receiving the donation, Debbi Shotton, Community Fundraising Officer for the Hospice, said:
"We are so grateful for the continued support of the Freemasons. We care for over 2000 patients and their loved ones every year across the 300 sq miles of South Devon. In addition to our Inpatient Unit, our specialist palliative care nurses and Community Teams visit patients in their own homes, providing care and compassion where it is needed the most. It currently costs over £8 million to run Rowcroft's extensive services, and we must raise over 70% ourselves. We rely heavily on the incredible generosity of the local community and organisations such as the Freemasons ".
Rowcroft Hospice has been serving the people of South Devon since 1982, helping to make every day the best day possible for patients with life-limiting illnesses. It demonstrates real humanity in the delivery of end-of-life care to patients and, equally importantly, their families, enhancing lives to the end for thousands of people both at home and in the care of the hospice.
During the tenure of David as Master of his Lodge, they have also raised another £800 for the Teddies for Loving Care; TLC is locally managed by Freemasons, who also volunteer their time to run the scheme. Since its inception in 2001, 3.5 million teddies have been distributed to hospitals throughout England and Wales to overcome the fear of children when visiting hospitals after an accident. Also, a further £500 has been raised for the Children's Hospice Southwest.
A year they can all be very proud of, especially David.
