Four community organisations in Harrogate and Ripon have benefited to the tune of £5,040 from grants presented by the freemasons.
Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust Palliative Care Charitable Fund has received £1,700 to buy 300 comfort bags for relatives to make their stay in hospital more comfortable.
The comfort bags provide very practical items such as earplugs, tissues, notebook and pens, travel pillow, hand lotions and essential toiletries.
Furthermore, Ripon-based Jennyruth Workshops, which supports adults with learning disabilities, was awarded a grant of £1,300 to go towards buying a new laser cutter.
Ripon Museum Trust received £1,200 to help finance the recreation of a late 19th century workhouse master’s garden, and St George’s Community Centre in Harrogate, was given a grant of £840 to purchase an automated defibrillator.
The financial support has come from The Province of Yorkshire West Riding – which encompasses the geographical area of South and West Yorkshire, and parts of North and East Yorkshire – who this April have given cheques totalling over £30,370 to 21 organisations across Yorkshire.
These latest grants, via the Provincial Grand Master’s (PGM) Fund which are presented on a quarterly basis, range from £500 to £3,520 and have gone to worthy causes including grassroots sports clubs, schools, hospitals and clubs for the young and old alike.
Each year, the PGM’s Fund presents grants totalling £200,000 to assist organisations across the country.
| Beneficiary | Cause | Grant | Lodge/Chapter | Area Number |
| Oakworth Community Trust | Provide third defibrillator in the village | £1400 | Three Graces | 1 |
| Bradford Cathedral | Buy and install defibrillator for use by those in cathedral and those nearby | £1230 | Moorland | 1 |
| Global Diversity Positive Action, Huddersfield | Purchase five laptops | £1000 | Peace | 1 |
| Friends of Greenhead Park, Huddersfield | Provide colourful play train for young children in the park | £1500 | Connaught & Truth | 2 |
| Meltham and Meltham Mills Band | Replace one of three tenor horns | £3520 | Peace | 2 |
| Southgate School, Huddersfield | Purchase outdoor tents to improve outdoor activities | £1000 | Connaught & Truth | 2 |
| White Rose Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, Huddersfield | Towards purchasing a specialist carpet | £1000 | Holme Valley | 2 |
| Bradford City Community Foundation | Purchase football kit for youngsters | £500 | Rokeby | 2 |
| Ripon Museum Trust | Towards recreating a late 19th century workhouse master’s garden | £1200 | De Grey & Ripon | 3
|
| Jennyruth Workshops (supports adults with learning disabilities), Ripon | Towards the cost of a new laser cutter | £1300 | De Grey & Ripon | 3 |
| Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust Palliative Care Charitable Fund | Buy 300 comfort bags for relatives to make their stay more comfortable | £1700 | Harrogate & Claro | 3 |
| St George’s Community Centre, Harrogate | Automated defibrillator | £840 | Harrogate & Claro | 3 |
| Guiseley Brass Band | Replacing two tubas for two refurbished instruments | £3000 | Fairfax | 3 |
| 5th Skipton Scout Group | Fit out kitchen with dishwasher and fridge/freezer | £2000 | Craven | 3 |
| The Principle Trust Children’s Charity, Skipton | Towards cost of replacing sensory toys | £1000 | Craven | 3 |
| Friends of Aireville Park, Skipton | Develop park equipment for children with purchase of a seesaw | £1350 | Craven | 3 |
| Tockwith Juniors Football Club | Buy a range of items to improve in-house educational programmes for players and coaches | £1000 | Lascelles | 3 |
| Roundabout Ltd, Sheffield | Buy essential electrical equipment to equip 4 housing units for 4 homeless people | £2000 | Wentworth | 4 |
| Rotherham Hospice | To buy a set off chairs and tables for use by patients and visitors in the outdoor area | £830 | Industry | 4 |
| Swallow Hill Community College, Leeds | Provide a range of personal hygiene products | £500 | St Wilfred | 5 |
| Senior Citizens Support Group, Horbury | Buy four laptops and four tablets | £2500 | Unanimity | 5 |
David S Pratt, The Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Yorkshire West Riding, said:
Assisting community led initiatives and projects is incredibly important to the Freemasons.
This quarter, we have been able to give grants to 21 worthy causes, nominated by members of lodges within our Province.
Charity is one of the three great principles that our order is founded on, and it is very much at the heart of what we do here throughout Yorkshire.
Further information about the Freemasons Province of Yorkshire West Riding is available from its website, http://wrprovince.net/
