Mark Benevolent Fund donation to East Lancashire Hospice

On behalf of the Mark Benevolent Fund, VWBro David H Thompson, PGJO, APGM, along with Bro Alan Dunnicliff, the Worshipful Master of Priory Lodge No 403, presented a cheque for £7000 to Graham Parr who is the Chairman of the Trustees to East Lancashire Hospice.

The MBF has invited every Mark Lodge within England and Wales to nominate a hospice within their Province to receive a donation of £1000 in recognition of a lifetime of service and dedication to the Crown and the nation by his HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, making an overall total of £1.25 million.

Seven of the 53 Lodges within East Lancashire nominated East Lancashire Hospice, which gave them a £7000 donation towards their work. The other Lodges were Starkie Lodge No 159, Perseverance Lodge No 403, Lancastrians Lodge No 689, Keep Lodge No 911, Adoniram Lodge No 1065 and The Darwen Lodge No 1327. Unfortunately, none of the other Masters could attend due to various reasons.

This donation by the MBF is in addition to the £3.2 million pounds they gave in 2018 to the St John’s ambulance service to purchase a number of ambulances and support vehicles to replenish the fleet which are situated around the country.

More recently £400,000 was raised as a result of a charity walk around London which enabled it to purchase 16 blood bikes and 10 cars for NABBS [National Association of Blood Bikes] to support the NHS.

A large leap when you think that when the charity first started in 1868 their first claimant was for a man who lost all his belongings at sea and was awarded £5.