Thursday 18th May saw rulers of the Order of the Secret Monitor, Province of Durham and Scarlet Cord, Province of Durham and Northumberland, attending the Head Quarters of regional charity CHUF in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear.
Alicia Clovis-Mothalib, CHUF Corporate & Trusts Fundraising Manager greeted the visitors and, over a breakfast of coffee and pastries, delivered a fascinating presentation on the work the charity undertakes to support babies, children and families, some of whom have to live for many years in the Heart Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital whilst awaiting a “gift of life” from an organ donor.
The Freeman and London’s Great Ormond Street are the only two Hospitals in the United Kingdom that are worldwide centres of excellence, and accredited to perform paediatric heart transplants so Heart Hero families come to Newcastle from far and wide. Additional support for these families is provided by the charity which, for many years, has received donations from various Freemasons organisations.
It was therefore decided, at the 2022 Scarlet Cord Annual General Meeting, to donate to CHUF all of the annual meeting collection which was enhanced by Provincial funds to the tune of £1,000. In addition, the Conclave of Friendship, meeting in Gateshead, also decided to donate £250 from their charity collections which was matched by the Order of the Secret Monitor, Province of Durham and further matched by £500 from the Grand Conclave OSM Benevolent Fund, creating another £1,000.
The charity will use this donation to purchase home monitoring equipment. These monitors, at a cost of £550 each and not available on the NHS, can enable some children to spend time at home and be remotely monitored by expert medical staff on the ward.
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