People often have little idea of who Freemasons are or of what they do.
One of ther prime motivations is charity.
Rob Barden from Corinthians, the Goolwa Masonic Lodge said there is so much they support.
“Through the Masonic Charities Foundation we have provided Toyota Coaster-type buses for Country Aged Care Homes and facilitated the K9 organisation in training dogs to assist returned servicemen and women,” Rob said.
“We have given financial aid to Cancer SA and money to the CFS for building large capacity water tanks in regional areas.
“Freemasons have helped Flinders Hospital install small cot-cameras in the Neo Natal Unit.
“Parents are given a code in order to access the camera 24/7 so Mum’s and Dad’s, anywhere in the world can see their new born.
“A Grand-dad on his property 300 miles west of Katherine can dial in with the code and see the future heiress to his Station.
“At Flinders we funded the complete refurbishment of an on-site house for Aboriginal families with family members undergoing heart surgery.
“Freemasons also established a multi-year funding program to train people in remote communities to use a defibrillator.”
Rob said a grant was provided to a Country Railway Museum to upgrade security and they also helped provide furniture for single abused Mum’s when moving into their own accommodation.
“We gave money to a community on Kangaroo Island to help with the re-building of their Community Hall at Stokes Bay,” he said.
“An interesting aside to this project, was the significant amount of funding received from the King Charles’ Trust.”
Locally, Corinthians helped equip the Hindmarsh Island Men’s Shed and provided a new Ute to replace the old one for the Goolwa Surf Life Saving Club.
They gave substantial assistance to the Goolwa Yacht Club to assist handicapped young people to sail in two person yachts with the handicapped person in charge and a qualified yachtsman as crew.
“At the end of this year we aim to assist the Op Shop at the Holy Evangelists Church, almost opposite our Goolwa Lodge room,” Rob said.
“This shop provides a marvellous and much needed service to our local community.
“Over two years we funded Diabetes SA to conduct testing in Men’s Sheds throughout the state.”
On Thursday, June 13, the local Freemasons will host a free event, open to the public, by Diabetes SA.
The session, starting at 6pm, at the Corinthian Masonic Lodge, Cadell Street, Goolwa, involves – Brief and informal information about type 2 diabetes – what it is, risk factors and information to support a healthy lifestyle; A short screening questionnaire for anyone not currently living with diabetes; For anyone considered high risk, a finger prick blood test will be offered and further advice provided.
“If you have any questions about our work or would like to learn more about Freemasons we are happy to hear from you at rob-india@outlook.com or 0428 1066 22,” Rob said.
