Ladies’ evening helps Brian House Children’s Hospice

Fylde Mark Lodge No 296 Ladies’ evening proved the starting point to give some much needed assistance for Brian House Children’s Hospice, the junior wing of Trinity Hospice in Blackpool. Fylde Mark’s WMM Hughie Clarke and his partner Flo felt that instead of giving the ladies gifts it would be a much better idea to raise money instead for a particular charitable purpose. Because of the support and assistance given to their grandson during his stay at Brian House the couple could think of no better cause than the children’s hospice.

And so, during the course of the lodge’s Ladies evening a very creditable £300 was raised which was duly ‘ring fenced’ for Brian House with the Mark Charities Fund. Contact with Brian House to see which item of equipment was on the hospice’s wish list established that a television was desperately required for the teenage room. However on hearing that the cost of the particular television the hospice had in mind was considerably more than the £300 raised, the Mark Charities Fund readily agreed to make up the difference by match funding Fylde’s donation with another £300, doubling the lodge’s gift to the hospice.

Pic1: Pictured, left to right, with a young patient at Brian House are, Howard Emmett, John Forster, Lisa Martin, Keith Beardmore and Alan Jones.

As a result the television was purchased and Deputy Provincial Grand Master Keith Beardmore, John Forster the Special Representative for Blackpool, both of whom are members of Fylde Mark Lodge, together with Alan Jones Provincial Grand Charity Steward and Howard Emmett Deputy Charity Group Leader went along to Brian House present the television.

Lisa Martin, community fundraiser for Trinity greeted the visitors to thank them for their gift and Keith and his colleagues were shown round the children’s hospice to see for themselves the home from home facilities and care that Brian House and its skilled and dedicated staff positively lavish on children with life threatening or life limiting illnesses who come to the hospice. All services for the children and their families are free of charge.

Pic 2: Lisa Martin shows Keith and his colleagues one of the children’s rooms at Brian House.

The visitors heard that Trinity is the largest hospice in the UK outside of London. It costs the charity £6 million a year to run and, with limited funding from government, fund raisers such as Lisa and her team have to raise £4 million a year to keep the doors open. They rely heavily on support from local organisations such as Mark Masons and the people of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre in the hospice’s catchment area. Brian House receives no government funding and has to depend on the ‘umbrella’ of Trinity. 

After touring the specially designed and planned facilities which includes a sensory room, music room, gardens, art and craft and play rooms and family accommodation areas, Keith and his colleagues were moved and impressed by all they had seen. Keith told Lisa on behalf of Mark Masons in the Province that they had been delighted to have been able to help.

Article and Photographs by Bob Boal