Freemasons support local groups

FREEMASONS on the Surf Coast have again supported charitable groups in the region with their latest round of donations.

Lodge of the Great Ocean Road members gathered at the McQuinn Centre in Torquay on Tuesday this week to present the donations, worth a collective $16,000, to the four groups.

Funding was raised by the lodge itself and also backed by Freemasons Foundation Victoria, represented on Tuesday by director John Patterson.

 

 

This year’s recipients were:

Anglesea and Aireys Inlet Foodbank, represented by Julie Mathews, which will use $5,000 to assist with the purchase of household food items to support those in need in the community

Geelong Jazz Club, represented by president Bronwen Parsons, which will use $3,000 to assist with teaching young musicians the art of jazz

Torquay Improvement Association (TIA), represented by president Bob Armstrong, which will use $3,000 to support the fitting of various security cameras and associated items at the TIA, and

Torquay Food AID, represented by president Michael Buckley, which will use $5,000 to assist with the purchase of household food items to support those in need in the community.

Since its inception in 1985, the Lodge of the Great Ocean Road and Freemasons Foundation Victoria have donated more than $200,000 to charitable groups, mostly in the Surf Coast.

As well as this year’s donations, the lodge will donate a further $3,200 through the Surf Coast Freemasons Junior Citizenship Awards, which will go to a Grade 6 boy and a Grade 6 girl at each of eight Surf Coast primary schools.

The $200 vouchers are presented towards the end of the year, and are to assist students with their needs for further education.