Casey chats on charities at Cleveleys
 
20th January 2016
 
It’s probably true to say that most Mark Masons know very little about the workings of West Lancashire Mark Charities and the three principal funds which the Province administers or how their charitable donations are put to good use.
Charity begins at home they say,
and these Charity officers look very much at home at Cleveleys Mark Lodge.
Pictured are Mike Casey, John Forster, Jimmy Rogers, John Sarti and Bob Boal.
That’s no longer true as far as the members of Cleveleys Mark Lodge No 1176 are concerned following a fascinating presentation they were given by Mike Casey who is the team leader of the Corinthian Mark Charity Group.
 
Mike, who was accompanied by John Sarti the Provincial Grand Charity Steward and Bob Boal who has recently been appointed as a deputy leader of the group, explained that the Corinthian Group looks after all charity-related matters in an area ranging from Barrow to Blackpool, Fleetwood and the Fylde.
 
Corinthian is one of five West Lancashire Mark Charity Groups which also consist of Ionic, Doric, Tuscan and Composite Groups and which between them cover the whole of the Province receiving and dealing with enquiries and petitions from Mark Masons.
Brethren heard that the three principal funds within the Province are the West Lancashire Mark Charity Fund - which provides appropriate need to Masonic and non-Masonic charitable organisations, the West Lancashire Mark Benevolent Fund - which receives and administers all donations for either direct transmission or via other Province’s Mark Festivals and the West Lancashire Mark Charity Committee Fund - which supports distressed Masons, their widows and dependants.
 
Mike advised Cleveleys Mark Masons about the many areas of financial assistance and grants which were available, stressing to charity stewards and lodges: “If you don’t apply, you won’t receive”.
 
He cited the various forms of help available which ranged from supporting worthy local good causes to giving help to needy Mark Masons and their dependants, reminding brethren that donations to charitable causes and local community projects could be often be topped up with additional aid from the Province.
 
He suggested that lodges should consider teaming up with other Mark lodges and that cheques given to reps at installations might be saved up and presented at Craft Giving Days to highlight the generosity of the Mark Degree to their fellow Craft Masons and the local community.
 
Mike said that his group was also welcomed applications for local projects which could be considered for larger grants from Province and that the groups were always on the lookout for such projects. These should, he said, be of a benefit to the community or an organisation and not simply be assistance for day to day running costs. He cited several examples of help where formal presentations were as diverse as lifejackets for a youth group and specialised bed sheets for the Blackpool BLESMA home.
 
Mike also stressed the advantages to lodges of joining the Gift Aid Scheme. Mark Charities are a registered charity. The scheme enables any registered charity to reclaim tax (currently 25p) for every pound donated, provided the donor is a tax payer and makes out the simple declaration on the Gift Aid envelope supplied by participating lodges. Every £10 donated becomes £12.50 and donations can be increased to good causes by 25% if the scheme is used by lodges thanks to this most welcome government encouragement to donate to charity.
 
Mike also spoke about the West Lancashire Mark Province 21st Century Club which is the main source of fund raising in the Province. Ostensibly it is a 100 Club from which it is hoped that around £4,000 per year cash be raised, half of which goes to chosen charities and the other half is returned in prize money with the first prize being £750.
 
The annual draw is made at the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge meeting in May and the winners are notified immediately. Cost per entry is £5 with a multi purchase bonus of a free entry for every four tickets purchased.
 
Thanking Mike for his presentation John Forster, the PGM’s Special Representative, gave several examples of projects which had been supported by the Charities. He reminded brethren of the defibrillator scheme whereby Mark Charities had supplied a defibrillator to every Masonic Hall in the Province. He also spoke about specialised trikes, which had been sourced from Holland and which had been gifted to Highfurlong School o in Blackpool to help severely handicapped schoolchildren.
 
John Sarti also spoke about several grants which had been made including specific assistance which had been quickly granted to Morecambe and Heysham to help local people who had been affected by the recent storms and floods.
 
Thanking Mike and the other presenters Cleveleys Mark Lodge WM Jimmy Rogers told about assistance which was currently underway where Mark Charity was providing kitchen equipment for a food bank in Fleetwood.
 
Mike Casey had another pleasant duty to perform as part of his visit to Cleveleys and he asked Cleveleys Mark Lodge’s newest member to take centre stage.
Pictured are John Forster, John Lee and Mike Casey
as Mike presents John with Dennis Tofts’ SW’s jewel.
Mike announced that John David Lee was to be Provincial Grand Senior Warden in the Craft and that he had a very special presentation to make; that of a SW’s jewel which had once belonged to Dennis Charles Tofts, sadly now called to the Grand Lodge above, and who had been John’s good friend and colleague in Baines Lodge.
 
Thanking Mike, John said how moved he was at receiving that particular jewel and that he would hold it in the highest regard during his tenure as SW.
 
Article and Photographs Courtesy of Bob Boal