Presentation at Rare Breeds Centre near Woodchurch

This year the PGM’s Charity awards ceremony was held on Saturday, 8th October, at the Canterbury Oast Trust’s facility at the Rare Breeds Centre, which is based on a working farm near Woodchurch. Adjacent to the Centre are five residential homes for people with learning and physical disabilities who receive training to improve their life skills and where possible able to help out around the site.

The Deputy Provincial Grand Master in Charge, VW Bro Roger Odd, presented cheques to cover charitable grants to 14 Kent based charities totalling £23,500.00. The grants from the Provincial Grand Master’s Charity and a further three from Provincial funds were witnessed by the Mayors of Ashford and Tenterden together with their escorts. Roger Odd welcomed all the recipients and congratulated them on their dedication and effort in supporting the various initiatives around the area. The Mayor of Ashford first received a donation to the four charities he has nominated for his year in office. Roger then invited each recipient to come forward to receive their award and deliver a short presentation about the nature of their charity and how the funds would be used.

The recipients of the awards with seated L to R: Mayor of Tenterden, Councillor Philip Carley; Escort to Mayor of Ashford, Ms Wendy Pooley; Deputy Provincial Grand Master in Charge, VW Bro Roger Odd; Deputy Mayor of Tenterden, Councillor Christine Hickman-Arnold; Mayor of Ashford, Councillor Matthew French.

The spectrum of charities benefiting range through the fields of counselling, supporting victims of domestic violence, brain injury, sheltered housing, assisting those with learning and physical disabilities, raising level of achievement in education, providing days out, guidance to young families, homelessness, speech loss therapy, mobility provision and fund raising for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

On completion of the awards a light buffet was served to the guests followed by a visit to one of the homes, kindly invited by the residents.

For full details of the charities who received grants, click here.

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