When Pat Palmer took over the leadership of Handyside Lodge No 1618 in Saltburn, Cleveland, he wanted to find a local charity or organisation that could benefit from Lodge fundraising efforts during his year of office.
Pat had noticed an article in a local newspaper in which the Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) were asking for donations towards essential all weather gear to help with their search and rescue operations and training.
Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team
Covering the northern half of the North York Moors, the coast from Sandsend up to Hartlepool and the Tees Valley, the CMRT has been in operation since 1965 and rely on up to 50 Search and Rescue members (which includes probationers) who are on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year. They are all volunteers - there are no paid staff and their services are offered free to anyone who needs them.
CMRT rely on the generous donations of local people and groups and other organisations to cover the £42,000 on average it costs to run their vital service every year, responding to an average of more than 60 call-outs per year where their specialist skills and equipment are needed to help local people who are injured, taken ill or in need of help.
In addition to the Search and Rescue members, CMRT have approximately 10 Support members who help with fundraising activities, acting as injured or missing people for training purposes, maintaining the vehicles and equipment and a multitude of other jobs.
Pat decided to contact CMRT to ascertain CMRT needs and it quickly became apparent that Lodge fundraising could make a real difference in meeting those needs.
Fundraising
Handyside Lodge initially set themselves a target of £1350 to provide three sets of specialist clothing, which was achieved. The Lodge then approached the Masonic regional charity, the Freemasons Charity of Yorkshire North and East Ridings (FCYNER) to ask them to consider additional support. FCYNER generously contributed another £450. FYCNER then in turn contacted the national Freemasons charity, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) to request further assistance. The MCF added their weight to the funding to the tune of another £900.
A total of £2700 was presented to representatives of CMRT which will enable them to purchase six new all weather outfits for the benefit of their volunteer members and a team from the Province and Handyside Lodge visited CMRT to formally make their donation.
The constant programme of training and refreshing of skills is vital for CMRT, with most participants attending training sessions every week. CMRT are actively recruiting at the moment: see https://clevelandmrt.org.uk/joining-the-team/ if you are interested in getting involved.
