|
Provincial Grand Master Announces £3 Million Target for 2014
Festival
The Launch Dinner for the 2014 Festival was a wonderfully
sumptuous affair in all respects, and proved to be an informative and positive
springboard for everyone's efforts during the coming six years.
 The traditional East Kent slow hand-clap heralded the arrival of the
Provincial Grand Master, Right Worshipful Brother Michael Bailey and his wife
Sandra, accompanied by the President of the Freemasons' Grand Charity, Very
Worshipful Brother Grahame Elliott CBE, and the charity's Chief Executive Mrs
Laura Chapman. Joining them at the table, accompanied by their ladies, were
the Provincial Grand Masters of West Kent and Sussex, Right Worshipful
Brothers Jonathan Winpenny and Ken Thomas respectively, our own Deputy
Provincial Grand Master, Very Worshipful Brother Peter Brooshooft, the
Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, the Deputy Grand Superintendent, Second and Third Provincial Grand
Principals, and the entire East Kent Provincial Craft and Chapter Executives.
It was also a delight to see the Past Provincial Grand Master, Right
Worshipful Brother John Bonomy, and his wife.
The five course banquet that followed was thoroughly enjoyed by the four
hundred and twenty seven diners amidst much friendly chatter, which reflected
the warm mood of bonhomie and genial anticipation set for the whole occasion.
Following respectful Toasts to The Queen and to the Most Worshipful Grand
Master, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, the Provincial Grand Master
(President of the 2014 Festival) rose to propose a Toast to the Freemasons'
Grand Charity.
Quoting from the First Degree Tracing Board, he opened by saying that
"Charity, ever lovely in itself, is one of the brightest jewels that can adorn
the whole of our Masonic profession" and went on to remind everyone that
Freemasons play a very important role in the wider community through
substantial Charitable giving. Such financial support, which creates an
invaluable and fundamental impact on our Society, should never be
under-estimated.
Before making the announcement that everybody was waiting for, RWBro Bailey
explained a little of the extensive process that had been undertaken before
the target figure had been set. A detailed review of membership had been
carried out, and subsequent consideration given to the reduced membership
numbers, the reducing real-term values of the fixed incomes of many older
members, the increased fiscal pressures upon the modern working man and his
family, and the general financial uncertainty which we are all currently
experiencing. Reiterating that the target figure had been very carefully
calculated, and discussed in great detail by the Joint Executives before being
unanimously agreed, the Provincial Grand Master finally announced that the
target for the 2014 Festival is £3,000,000.
In thanking the Lodges and Chapters across the Province for their timely
responses to the request for their own individual targets, the Provincial
Grand Master felt reassured that the generosity of East Kent Freemasons would
ensure a successful conclusion to the Festival, as evidenced by their £1
million contributions to non-masonic charities over the last six years, and
their consistently outstanding donations to Masonic charities and other worthy
causes. He encouraged all members to support the Lodge and Chapter targets -
even those who do not regularly attend meetings.
In encouraging all Lodges, Chapters and individual members to open accounts
with the East Kent Provincial Charities Association (EKPCA), he reminded the
Brethren that such accounts increased the amount deposited by offering a
highly competitive rate of interest, and by ensuring that Gift Aid is
recovered, which represents an additional value of 28% on an individual's
donations.
Before resuming his seat, the Provincial Grand Master made presentations to
the President and Chief Executive of Freemasons' Grand Charity as a mark of
welcome and gratitude to them for making the journey to Margate to share the
occasion with us.
Responding to the Toast in his customary humorous way, VWBro Grahame Elliott
began by thanking the Province for setting such a commendable objective, and
pledged the support of the charity's staff, saying that they will provide all
the help that we need to achieve the goal.
He went on to remind the diners that it is a great privilege to be involved in
any charity, at any level, and that he and his Chief Executive are very
conscious of their responsibilities to the Freemasons' Grand Charity, its
members, and the recipients of its various grants.
He informed everyone that 50% of Grand Charity's giving goes to Masonic
causes, and that the other 50% goes to Medical Research, Youth Opportunities,
Vulnerable People, and Disaster Relief. The Charity offers a very wide scope
of support, ranging from small annual grants to individual Freemasons or their
dependants in reduced circumstances, up to very large disaster relief grants.
In recent years the disaster support has gone to many countries including the
UK, Burma, China, India and Africa. Such support is always for specific
projects so that the benefit from the money can always be directly attributed
to something, rather than funds just getting swallowed up or channelled. Good
examples of this are the funding of a recovery centre in Burma, and money to
support similar projects throughout the area affected by the tsunami.
On a more local level, VWBro Elliott talked about the great need for our
support in inner cities and similar deprived areas. In some places around the
country, families are in their third generation of unemployment, and
consequently children growing up in those places have no comprehension of what
it means to go to work. In some areas, as many as 25 per cent of children
cannot even read or write - and this is in our own country! Many of the
youngsters in such areas are left to fend for themselves with little or no
love or support from their mothers, fathers, or wider families. "Can you
imagine" he asked "what it must be like never to have been told that you are
loved or even wanted?". Freemasons' Grand Charity gives around £3 million a
year to public charities in support of such children and deprived areas.
VWBro Elliott stressed the importance of publicising our charitable giving,
and generally continuing our efforts to become more open about the support
that we give to international, national, and local charities and good causes.
He also said that there is clear evidence of new members being attracted to
our Fraternity as a result of better understanding of the good in what we
stand for, and the support that we give those in need.
In closing, he once again thanked the Provincial Grand Master and the Province
in general for supporting the important work of Freemasons' Grand Charity, and
wished WBro Stewart Cale, the Provincial Grand Charity Steward, every success
in the challenge which lies ahead.
VWBro Elliott's speech was very well received indeed, and his poignant and
informative words certainly struck a chord of understanding and support with
all present.
The Provincial Grand Charity Steward, WBro Stewart Cale, afterwards said that
he is very proud to be supporting The Freemasons' Grand Charity in such a
tangible and worthwhile way, especially in view of the direct benefit that is
already received from the charity right across the Province, such as the
"matched funding" grants awarded last year, and the annual support of our
hospices. "It has also been very gratifying" he said "to see the magnificent
support that Grand Charity has given to the relief of suffering following a
number of disasters across the world in recent years, such as the tsunami,
floods, cyclones and earthquakes".
WBro Cale went on to say that the target is attainable and realistic, and that
he looks forward to working with the Lodges and Chapters to bring the Festival
to a very successful and joyful conclusion. He wished to remind Charity
Stewards that a support structure is in place consisting of area coordinators
and the Provincial Charity Committee. Charity Stewards should never feel
isolated as there are people available with whom they can discuss problems and
explore ideas.
Undoubtedly a great success, the launch evening and dinner was very well
organised, and the subsequent thanks of WBro Stewart Cale are reproduced
below.
Brethren
I would like personally to thank all those involved in last night's 2014
Launch Dinner, in whatever capacity, for all their hard work in making it such
a successful event.
So.....
....to those who chased lodges and chapters to set a target so that the
overall Provincial Target could be set with absolute confidence and, most
importantly, with buy-in from the lodges and chapters....
....to those who chased lodges and chapters to send a member to represent them
at the Launch, which resulted in 427 attending the dinner.....
....to those who took bookings and organised the seating plan....
....to those who liaised with the Winter Gardens....
....to those in the Provincial Office who patiently answered queries....
....to those involved with the preparation and printing of flyers, tickets,
menus, Provincial articles etc....
....to those in the EKPCA who provided financial data....
....to those who ensured the event ran smoothly on the evening....
....to all of you who attended, a 100% turn-out....
....to all your wives and partners who give you such tremendous support....
....to those who have sent me email of encouragement....
....to all those unsung heroes who I may have forgotten to mention (please
pass on my appreciation)....
....a very, very big thank you. I am most grateful for your support, it was a
fantastic team effort, without which the evening would not have been the
success that it was.
Now the really hard work begins....!!
Kind Regards
Stewart
Top of Page
|
