Introducing
Freemasonry Cares:
Financial, Healthcare and Family Help
For You and Your Loved Ones
We all
hope our lives will be free from trouble, but sadly this is
not always the case. Many people find themselves facing problems
at some point in their lives, whether it is financial difficulty,
poor health, the need for assistance in their old age or help
to support their children.
The
central Masonic Charities - The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, Royal
Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, The Royal Masonic Benevolent
Institution and Masonic Samaritan Fund – offer a wide range
of help to Freemasons and their dependants who find themselves
with real financial, healthcare or family related needs. However,
many of those who are eligible for this support are missing
out, often because they are unaware of the help the charities
can provide or are reluctant to come forward to ask.
In response
to this the central Masonic Charities are working with Provinces
across England and Wales to launch Freemasonry Cares, which
makes it easier for Freemasons and their dependants to remember
and access the full range of charitable support available to
them. We are delighted to announce the launch of Freemasonry
Cares in the Province of Lincolnshire, so you and your family
know where to turn in your time of need.
What
is Freemasonry Cares?
Freemasonry
Cares makes it easy to remember that support is available by
delivering a simple message: if you have a Masonic connection
and a real financial, healthcare or family need then contact
Freemasonry Cares as help might be available. A central freephone
(0800 035 60 90), email (help@freemasonrycares.org) and website
(www.freemasonrycares.org) have been set up which give easy
access to the full range of support the Masonic Charities collectively
provide. The service is confidential, there is no charge and
no obligation so you have nothing to lose by getting in touch.
Freemasonry
Cares is designed to work in conjunction with Province’s own
care arrangements and is not a replacement for these; the Province
of Lincolnshire remains fully committed to the welfare of you
and your family. Your Lodge Almoner continues to offer support
and guidance and we encourage you to turn to him should you
find yourself in need. Freemasonry Cares simply provides another
route to access assistance if, for whatever reason, you feel
unable to talk to someone in the Province.
Perhaps
you are reluctant
to discuss your problems with your Lodge Almoner because he
is personally known to you, or you are the dependant of a member
and don’t know who to contact, or perhaps you simply want to
make your initial enquiry anonymously. These are some of the
many reasons why you might want to use the Freemasonry Cares
service and we would strongly encourage you to do so.
Mary’s
Story
Freemasonry
Cares is already making a huge difference to the lives of Freemasons
and their families across England and Wales. Mary, the elderly
widow of a Mason, is just one of hundreds of people who have
already benefitted from help accessed via Freemasonry Cares.
Mary
became the resident of a care home but needed a highly specialist
wheelchair in order to socialise and participate in the residents’
activities. The chair she had been previously using was condemned
for health and safety reasons but without a suitable replacement
she became confined to her bedroom.
Fortunately
Mary received a timely letter from the Provincial Grand Master
of her late husband’s Province. Sent to all known widows in
the Province, the letter urged Mary to contact Freemasonry Cares
if she had one of a number of needs, including requiring mobility
equipment. Mary’s daughter read the letter on her mother’s behalf
and was very surprised as her father had never mentioned the
Masonic Charities and so she had no idea that help might be
available.
With
nothing to lose the daughter decided to contact Freemasonry
Cares via its central helpline number. She was astounded by
the speed and efficiency with which the enquiry was handled
and following submission of application forms, a suitable wheelchair
was sourced and provided. Mary now has the freedom to move around
her care home and enjoys an active social life with the other
residents.
The
central Masonic charities offer a wide range of care, help and
assistance to people like Mary but they can only help if people
ask for support. To ask for support people need to know it is
available. This is why Freemasonry Cares is so important.
Freemasonry
Cares for You Today, Tomorrow and in the Future
You
will find a leaflet about Freemasonry Cares enclosed in this
copy of Masonic Lincs. This provides details about the financial,
healthcare and family related help you can access via Freemasonry
Cares and contact details for the service. Please take the time
to read the leaflet carefully and share its contents with your
loved ones. If you know of someone else who would benefit from
seeing this – a widow of a member or a retired member in need
– the leaflet contains information on where to request extra
copies to pass on. Most importantly, make sure you keep the
leaflet safe. Even if you don’t need help now your circumstances
may change and Freemasonry Cares is here to help today, tomorrow
and in the future.
Summary
Report for the Province of Lincolnshire
1 August – 31 October
2011
Enquiries
• During
this quarter, a total of 993 enquiries were received to the
Freemasonry Cares service.
• 25
enquiries were directly attributed to the Province of Lincolnshire.
The enquiries fell into the following categories:
• 80% (20) of the enquiries were positively progressed. This
includes enquiries where an application was made, where advice
was given that the client is likely to be able to apply for
assistance, or where the client was referred back to the Province
or to other appropriate services for further support.
• It
was not possible to progress 16% (4) of the enquiries received.
This is because the request fell outside of the remit of the
Charities, the enquirer did not meet the Charities’ eligibility
criteria or the enquiry was unrelated to Freemasonry Cares.
• 4%
(1) of the enquiries were recorded as ‘other’. This means that
the enquiry relates to Freemasonry Cares but is unrelated to
making an application, for example, requests for further copies
of the leaflet or information about Freemasonry Cares.
Allocation of Enquiries by Charity
• 8%
(2) of enquiries were allocated to The Freemasons’ Grand Charity
• 12%
(3) of enquiries were allocated to the Royal Masonic Trust for
Girls and Boys
• 20%
(5) of enquiries were allocated to the Masonic Samaritan Fund
• 4%
(1) of enquiries were allocated to the Royal Masonic Benevolent
Institution
• 56%
(14) of enquiries were dealt with by the Freemasonry Cares Team
and included those enquiries generally logged as ‘Other’, for
example, requests for leaflets and information about Freemasonry
Cares.
Notes
The
figures provided relate to all enquiries which can be reliably
attributed to the Province. In some cases an enquiry will not
be attributed to any Province because the caller does not provide
this information, most frequently when the person calling is
not a Freemason, for example the widow, child or other dependant
of a Freemason.
In other
cases an enquiry will be triggered by a Freemasonry Cares promotional
activity but will go directly to the Province or one of the
Charities. It is not possible to capture data relating to this
sort of enquiry because it is not received through the central
Freemasonry Cares services.
Given
the difficulty of capturing data for those types of enquiries
listed above, it is fair to assume that this report shows the
minimum number of enquiries generated by Freemasonry Cares in
the Province during the period of the report.
