Great Priory Meeting, November 2018: Procession
- Details
- Category: Order of Malta
Intendant-General for the West Midlands Division, R.Ill.Kt. John Tristram, accompanied by Darren Coleman-Heald, Charities Manager from Mark Masons’ Hall, London and several local members of the Order, visited the Cirencester Opportunity Group (COG) to make a presentation of £2,500. John said, “we delighted that the Fund has been able to assist COG in their vital work with pre-school children”.
This grant will be spent on providing home-cooked meals for the children five days a week, throughout 2019. It will ensure that the children have a nutritiously balanced meal, with many opportunities provided for them to experience and learn about new food tastes and textures to support their development.
COG is a small children’s charity which has been providing a service to the community since 1973. This Specialist Early Years Centre offers inclusive care and education to children and toddlers, and much needed support to their families.
Over 50% of the children must have a special need or a disability and the children who come to the centre have a range of needs including: Autism Spectrum disorders, global developmental delay, genetic disorders and speech and language difficulties. Some of the children growing up within challenging circumstances and experiencing deprivation. COG is the only group of its kind in the area and is widely respected in its field. The charity serves the town of Cirencester and the surrounding villages within a 15-mile radius preparing the children for school life, through Speech and Language Therapy, Music Therapy, Soft play facilities, offering practical, emotional and one-to-one support.
The West Midlands Division has been pleased to contribute to the Cirencester Opportunity Group and wish them well for the future.
Thanks to John Tristram for the article and Dave Wells & Darren Coleman-Heald for the photos
Issued from the Charities Office, Mark Masons’ Hall, London 15.11.2018
Last Sunday saw W.Bro. George Reynolds lay a wreath on behalf of the Mark Province of Monmouthshire at the cenotaph in Newport. W.Bro. George, formerly of the Royal Horse Artillery, the only WW2 veteran on parade and in his 101st year, stepped forward with great dignity and solemnity to pay his tribute to the fallen, assisted by W.Bro. Jonathan Roberts, Dep.G.D.C.
Such is the affection for W.Bro. George among the people of Newport and beyond that his presence at the cenotaph in Newport quickly drew applause when he arrived ahead of the 11 o’clock Act of Remembrance – a true celebrity!
Well done and thank you, George. Your fortitude and determination is a lesson and an encouragement to us all.
At the Provincial Grand Lodge Meeting on 6th October, Rt.W.Bro. Peter Balsom had the pleasure of presenting the St John Ambulance Service with the new Treatment Centre from the Mark Benevolent Fund and the Mark Master Masons of Devonshire.