East Lakes Group Charity support
As part of this year’s Provincial Grand Masters ‘Matching’ Initiative the Eden Hearing Services charity received a grant of £2,000. This donation was a life saver for the charity which requires about £1,500 a year to continue its service. At the time of the grant, the charity had only £200 remaining in its funds.
In recognition of our vital generosity, the charity has added our Masonic logo and the words ‘supported by Cumberland & Westmorland Freemasons’ to their roll out stand which is displayed at all their clinics. These acknowledgements are also printed on a list of the clinic dates for each venue – in the form of a bookmark. The clinics are held at numerous venues throughout the Eden area.
The charity extended an invitation to myself, the Group Vice Chairman ( W. Bro. Ian Turner) and Group Almoner, ( W. Bro. Derek Donaldson )to visit the November clinic at Kirkby Stephen. We were amazed at the number of local people using the service – about 30 during the hour we were there. Whilst the hearing aid parts and batteries are provided by the NHS, the servicing and battery installation is provided free by the charities volunteers. This ‘local’ service provides vital support in communities and avoids long journeys to hospitals which can be hours away. This was a very rewarding visit and confirmed that the choice of this charity was very appropriate for the ‘Matching’ Initiative.
One of the charities volunteers, Mrs Geraldine Bolton, joined us on the photograph. 
