Freemasons donate £1,000 to Hospiscare's Kings House in Honiton
This year has seen the Freemasons celebrate their tercentenary and as part of their annual support of hospices throughout the country the Assistant Provincial Grand Master of Devonshire W. Bro. Chris Yard can be seen here presenting a certificate denoting the £1,000 given on behalf of the Freemasons of Devonshire and the Masonic Charitable Foundation to Maggie Draper, Head of Supportive Care at Hospiscare’s Kings House Day Hospice in Honiton.
The Masonic Charitable Foundation will this year give grants totalling £600,000 to the 245 hospices in England and Wales, including nearly £10,000 to seven hospices here in Devon as part of the £12 million given since 1984. This includes £450,000 which has been distributed between the hospices that each receive less than 20% funding from the NHS. A further £150,000 will be provided to the national charity for hospice care, Hospice UK, in a pilot partnership aimed at developing and expanding bereavement support services in hospices.
The Freemasons have been long-term supporters of Hospiscare’s Kings House in Honiton, and along with individual donations made by many of the 133 Lodges that meet throughout the county and the Masonic Charitable Foundation together, have donated nearly £100,000 to Hospiscare since 1994 when the Freemasons’ records began.
On receiving the certificate, Maggie Draper, Head of Supportive Care for Kings House Day Hospice, said: “I am delighted to receive the £1,000 donation from the Masonic Charitable Foundation on behalf of Hospiscare’s Kings House Day Hospice. This will go a long way in helping us support our patients in the East Devon area. We are reliant on 80% of our funding coming from voluntary sources and wouldn’t be able to deliver our care without the community’s support and organisations such as the Masonic Charitable Foundation.”
Hospiscare’s Kings House Day Hospice opened in 2015 with great support from the local community. Patients have access to specialist help and support, advice and treatment, and Hospiscare’s local team of Community Nurse Specialists that support patients in their own homes are also based there.
The Assistant Provincial Grand Master W. Bro. Chris Yard, when he presented the certificate said, “It is always a delight to be here with such dedicated and wonderful people, the Freemasons are very happy to be able to help by making this donation towards the on-going work of the Hospice. The dedication to the staff to the people of this area who need help is admirable - long may it continue.”
