Royal Edward Lodge based in Leominster, with matched finding from the Hereford Masonic Charity Association, recently donated £1,000 to ECHO, a charity that helps adults with learning difficulties.  

ECHO is an independent, Herefordshire-based charity with 230 members and over 150 volunteers. Their main office is in Leominster, but their projects run in many different community-based venues.

Most of their activities are suitable for people with moderate or severe learning difficulties, but they will try to support anyone who wishes to take part in their activities, including those with mental health difficulties or physical or sensory impairments.

The donation was used to purchase forty-eight aprons of different colours for different types of activities.  Each had “Generously donated by Herefordshire Freemasons” embroidered on them.

Nic Bullock, Deputy Chief Officer of ECHO, thanked Tim Bridgland Taylor, the Provincial Grand Charity Steward for Herefordshire Freemasons, saying.

“I want to thank you personally and your organisation for your continued generosity in supporting the work of ECHO. On receipt, I’ll share our plans on how your matched funding will be of significant benefit to our disabled participants.”

– Nic Bullock, Deputy Chief Officer of ECHO

Further details about Echo can be found on their website here: www.echoherefordshire.co.uk

Freemasons from across Herefordshire have played key roles in co-ordinating elements of the 2024 Poppy Appeal

An urgent call for help was received from the Royal British Legion part way through October.

“Could you help with the distribution of Poppy boxes and collection tins in Hereford?”

An urgent appeal was made to the members of Herefordshire Freemasons which was answered

On 18th October over 60 boxes and tins were delivered around the town and outlying villages. Notices were sent to the other 30 groups who wanted wreaths and other items. The following week was spent co-ordinating collection points in superstores and the High Street, with volunteers who included several Lodge members, plus some training on using the card machines!

The poppies were out, and collectors were collecting! The Appeal was officially launched on 24th October.

After the two-week appeal across Ledbury, the Lodge members and their partners, together with local volunteers, began collecting the tins from shops, schools and other venues across the town. This took a couple of days, but then counting could begin.

With two teams of five and the use of the conference room at the Feathers Hotel, together with two coin-counting machines, the monies from over sixty tins and buckets were counted. The total, including donations via card machines and QR codes, was up by forty percent on last year.

Thank you to the public of Ledbury for their generosity, and the Lodge members and their partners who gave up their time to make this first year of help a great success.

Now to start planning for next year!

Delphis Lodge make a difference to dementia suffers across Herefordshire

W Bro David Knowles, Delphis Lodge Charity Steward, and the Worshipful Master W Bro Ian Warren met the Chief Executive of Dementia Matters (Herefordshire) at St John’s Church Hereford to see how the Lodge’s donation was helping the charity. There are around 3,700 people in Herefordshire with Dementia but only 1806 have been diagnosed.
Delphis Lodge donated £1,000, which had been match funded by the Masonic Charitable Foundation, providing £2,000 in total to this excellent local charity. David and Ian met up with Clare Powney, the Chief Executive to see first hand how the donation had helped the charity provide their valuable service to the Herefordshire community.

Dementia Matters (Herefordshire) is a Herefordshire wide independent charity that was set up in January 2020, to fill the gaps in service provision and opportunities for people who are affected by dementia or memory loss, their carers and families. They support people who may already have memory difficulties or are worried about their or a loved one’s memory and offer support and advise through the diagnosis process if necessary.
Dementia Matters (Herefordshire) offers a number of different services and projects, including developing social opportunities, across the county. They are a small friendly local team, experienced in offering support, information, advice and can signpost to other organisations to access their support. All of their services are free of charge.
Further details are on their website here https://dementiamattershere.co.uk