Bolton Hospice was delighted to receive a cheque for £5,000 this week from VWBro David H Thompson, PGJO, APGM East Lancashire, on behalf of the Mark Benevolent Fund.

The Mark Benevolent Fund, which is based in London, is the charity arm of the Mark Degree in Freemasonry and makes various donations throughout the year to both Masonic and non-Masonic charities since it was founded in 1868, when their first claim was for a man who lost all his belongings at sea and was awarded £5.

This generous donation is the result of the MBF inviting every Mark Lodge within England and Wales to nominate a hospice within their Province to receive a donation of £1,000, in recognition of a lifetime of service and dedication to the Crown and the nation by his HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, making an overall total of £1.25 million.

Five of the 53 Lodges within East Lancashire nominated Bolton Hospice as their chosen hospice. These Lodges are St John’s Lodge TI, East Lancashire Provincial Grand Officers Lodge No 990, Supera Moras Lodge No 1042, FW Broadbent Lodge No 1132, and Quatuor Legati Lodge No 1165.

This donation by the MBF is in addition to the £3.2 million they gave in 2018 to the St John’s Ambulance Service to purchase a number of ambulances and support vehicles to replenish the fleet.