Masons fundraise for hospice

[Sir.Mike]

THOUSANDS of freemasons got involved in activities ranging from quad
bike safaris to eating mountains of curry to raise money for a
children's hospice.

Some 6,000 West Kent Freemasons at centres ranging from Welling,
through to Sevenoaks, took only nine months to raise the money to help
build a Demelza children's hospice in Wensley Close, Eltham.

The Right Worshipful Brother Jonathan, who headed up the project,
said: "We hope to top up our contribution to Demelza to £200,000 by
the end of October. The Masons in West Kent have often sent individual
contributions to the main Demelza hospice in Sittingbourne, East Kent,
which is a different Masonic province to ours. "As soon as I heard
they were building this place in West Kent, I knew the brethren of our
Province would want to support it. Children and hospices are very
emotive issues.

"Some of us have had aged parents, who had to use the hospice
movement."

The hospice is about 75 per cent completed and it is hoped to open
next January. It is the first children's hospice in South London and
will cost £6,000,000 in total to launch.