The former Master of a Freemasons’ Lodge in Poole teamed up with his wife to fundraise for a local charity following her own cancer battle.
Geoff Graham, a Past Master of the Lodge of Meridian No. 6582 and his wife Caroline; combined their Lodge Ladies Night with that of the previous year’s Lodge Ladies Night, hosted by Marc Davies, and raised an impressive sum of £1082 for charity.
Caroline said: “When Geoff was appointed Master of the Lodge last April it gave us the opportunity to use his term to support a cause we were passionate about, the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation is helping people with cancer here in our county through some of their darkest days.”
Caroline continued: “I was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 when our children were still at school. It was terrifying to be told I had a fast-growing cancer and a breast lump 50mm in size. I had two operations and chemotherapy, and thankfully my family and friends helped me through a truly traumatic time.
"We found out about the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation after my own cancer treatment; and owing to our own experiences we were hugely impressed by the way this charity intervenes to help families quickly and effectively, when they most need it”.
She added: "When the opportunity arose to stage 'The Masters Ladies Night' for the Lodge, we knew we wanted DCCF to benefit and Geoff agreed.
“Covid delayed our Ladies Night, but we simply rescheduled it and it was very well attended by Freemasons and their friends and family”.
Both Geoff and Caroline said it was great to meet the DCCF team and present the cheque on behalf of the Lodge. They learned that the money will be with families that need it within weeks.
Geoff’s year as Master ended in April 2023, but, as a Lodge, they hope to support the charity further in the future.
The Dorset Cancer Care Foundation was founded by three nurses from Poole in 2013 and its supporters have, through donations, since raised funds which have provided individuals to meet costs such as accommodation and household bills, travel to hospital and specialist equipment. At any given time there are hundreds of families across the county who are struggling mentally, physically and financially because of cancer.
Meryl Ponsford, a trustee of the DCCF said: “It was lovely to meet Geoff and Caroline, to hear of Caroline’s recovery from cancer and to learn of their wonderful support for our work. Organisations such as Freemasonry and in particular local Freemason’s Lodge’s, can and enable us to help Dorset cancer patients when they’re struggling most and we hope other groups and companies might read this and consider supporting us too.”
