Volunteers with St John Ambulance, the nation’s leading first aid charity, took time out recently to say thank you to the Masons for the donation of a new Treatment Centre which will be used across North Yorkshire.
The new Treatment Centre is one of over 50 vehicles which are being handed over in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands in a phased programme from October 2017 and throughout 2018.
The vehicles have been secured thanks to a capital grant by the Mark Master Masons through their Mark Benevolent Fund to the Order of St John with the specific aim of providing new ambulances, treatment centres and support vehicles to St John Ambulance, the Order’s operational arm in England and the Islands.
The new vehicle will be put to use at events in the county as volunteers deliver life saving first aid to members of the public.
At the handover event which took place at York Race Course recently, Bob Clancey, Provincial Grand Master at the Mark Province of North and East Yorkshire, said: ‘The Mark Benevolent Fund (MBF) has grown from its inception in 1868, when the first grant of £5 was given to a penniless, shipwrecked sailor just returning home, to today’s multi million pound organisation.
‘The MBF is a caring, compassionate and charitable organisation, which cares passionately about the communities that we live in and the people that live in those communities. St John Ambulance shares the same philosophy, so it’s a delight on behalf of the MBF to hand over this Treatment Centre to enable them to continue their life saving work.’
Gordon Cameron, Chair of the North Yorkshire & Teesside County Priory Group, said: ‘The donation of this vehicle is wonderful news for the county and will significantly help enhance patient care and contribute to more lives saved locally. We’re immensely grateful to the Mark Master Masons in the North and East Yorkshire Province and to the Mark Benevolent Fund for their generosity and we look forward to seeing the positive use made by local St John Ambulance volunteers of the vehicle in the future as they continue the charity’s life saving mission.’
For more information about the Mark Master Masons and the Mark Benevolent Fund, please visit www.glmmm.com and www.markbenevolence.org.uk. For more information about St John Ambulance, please visit www.sja.org.uk. For more information about the Order of St John in England, please visit www.stjohnengland.org.uk
