St Andrew’s Lodge presented a £3,000 cheque to Helping Whittlesey

|

November 12, 2024

On 24^th October W.Bro. Simon Phillips, a member of the St Andrew’s Lodge in Whittlesey, presented Anna Foster from the charity Helping Whittlesey with a cheque for £3,000 — £1,500 to support the provision of Christmas presents to Whittlesey children and £1,500 to support a new tool rental and repair scheme.

Anna Foster receiving the cheques from W.Bro. Phillips and his wife Jo Phillips

The funds were accumulated through the dedicated efforts of the lodge members through fundraising initiatives throughout the year. W.Bro. Phillips expressed his appreciation for the support he received from the members of St Andrew’s Lodge, family and friends who participated in the events:

We are delighted to support Helping Whittlesey with this donation to kick start the Christmas Appeal 2024 to provide local children with Christmas presents who would otherwise get very little, and also to support Helping Whittlesey with this donation to the tool rental and return scheme for people in the local area.

Anna Foster, chair of Helping Whittlesey, showed her appreciation upon receiving the donation:

We want to say a huge, thank you to St Andrew Masonic Lodge for the generous donation to the Christmas Appeal 2024. We have been collecting throughout the year and your donation will take that pressure off with what’s left to get. Every child deserves to feel the magic of Christmas. The other donation will go towards the purchase of items needed to set up a library of tools for the community to borrow and will be a welcome boost to the community.”

Last year Helping Whittlesey provided Christmas presents for 120 local children. Each child got on average pj’s/clothes, teddy, book, games/toys, colouring book and pens, smellies and a selection box as well as wrapping paper and cello tape for the parents to wrap.

Helping Whittlesey are also in the process of starting up a library of tools and gadgets, for example a lawnmower, pressure washer, drill, sander etc… the idea is that people who can’t justify or afford the cost of them but can borrow them for a small fee. The money will be used to expand and replace items as and when needed.