NEWS AND VIEWS
HELP FOR BALKANS FLOOD VICTIMS
Red Cross Balkan flood relief effort
BLIND VETERANS RECEIVE SUPPORT
HEALTH AWARENESS WITH SIR STEVE
Blind Veterans UK, formerly known as St Dunstan’s, has received £50,000 from the Grand Charity to fund the development of a new state-of-the-art bedroom at its Brighton centre. When completed, the new specially adapted bedroom will feature fully accessible wet-room facilities and an electronic hoist, making it ideal for frail veterans. Lesley Garven, manager of the Blind Veterans UK rehabilitation, training and care centre in Brighton, said: ‘Thanks to the Grand Charity, our blind veterans will be able to live even more comfortably in a supported environment with direct access to the highest quality of nursing.’
Together with the Gloucester Citizen, local charity CRY, which heightens awareness of the cardiac health of youngsters involved in sport, was looking to raise the sum of £7,000. Gloucestershire’s then PGM Adrian Davies stepped in with the £2,000 required – the cost of screening sessions for 200 young sportsmen and women. Charity patron and five-time Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave was present at the University of Gloucester School of Sport and Exercise in Longlevens to draw attention to the screenings on offer.
PIONEERING BRAIN REPAIR Research at Cambridge University’s Clinical Neurosciences Department into multiple sclerosis (MS) was celebrated at a special charity evening held in Cambridge. Representatives from 25 local charities were invited to a supper at Freemasons’ Hall during which grants were awarded from both national and Cambridgeshire masonic charities. The Grand Charity and the MSF have each made a grant of £50,000 towards a research project on the safety of the drug Bexarotene – capable of repairing brain damage during the early stages of MS. In 2011, a £100,000 grant from the Grand Charity supported the development of Alemtuzumab, a drug used to help treat leukaemia, by Dr Alasdair Coles – which is now licensed for use in Europe, Canada and Australia. Shown above (l to r): Jacqueline Garget (associate director of trusts and foundations at the university), PGM Rodney Wolverson, Dr Alasdair Coles and Professor Alastair Compston (head of clinical neurosciences)
Sir Steve Redgrave and Adrian Davies with Matson rugby player, Justin Sterry
MYSTERY TOUR BOOSTS CHARITY RESEARCH Shown (l to r): Kerry Levins (Blind Veterans UK trustee), veteran Bob Strickland, Jackie Greer (Blind Veterans UK head of care), Martin Mitten (Sussex Deputy PGM-Elect) and Jackie Ball (Blind Veterans UK group manager)
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A recent fundraising effort – the magical mystery tour in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research – was organised by Derwent Lodge, No. 884. The event was led by Freemason Tim Draper and his wife Pam, whose grandson Jack was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of two. The trip took them to Stratford-upon-Avon, South Marston in Wiltshire, Bath and Derby, where they were met by Jack – sitting in his grandfather’s coach – having raised £1,559.
PHOTOGRAPHY: BRITISH RED CROSS, ALEX BEATON
In response to an urgent appeal launched by the British Red Cross, Grand Charity President Richard Hone has approved a £30,000 emergency grant in support of its flood-relief efforts in the Balkans. Since May, strong winds, low temperatures and heavy rains in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have caused severe flooding, killing over 40 people. The floods have triggered over 3,000 devastating landslides and have disturbed landmines laid during the regional conflict in the 1990s. Over 350,000 people are thought to be without water or power, and around 100,000 homes have been destroyed.