Grand Ranks for the Royal Arch

First Appointments

Worcestershire Provincial Grand Chapter extends congratulations to three E.Companions on achieving first promotions to Supreme Grand Chapter.

David Francis Macey,
Lapal Chapter No 6031 P.G.St.B. David gets this direct from Grand Lodge by virtue of his being appointed Assistant Prov Grand Master (Warks).
Graham Laurence Perkins,
Chapter of St Thomas No 7940 P.G.St.B. Provincial Prior.
John Michael Phenix,
Wigornia Chapter No 4935 P.G.St.B. Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies.

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Worcestershire Charity Golf Day in aid of Appeal 2011 Festival

article by Jim Holtom

The Charity Golf Day held on 10th June at Gaudet Luce Golf Club Droitwich was a great success! The total sum raised for the 2011 Festival was £500, and the winners were:

• 1st Prize £300 - Ollie Creed (non mason) but representing Morgan Lodge.
• 2nd Prize £100 - Jim Donnelly (non mason) but representing Ben Marsh Lodge.
• 3rd Prize £50 - Neil Moorcroft representing Morgan Lodge.

(Click the image for a larger image, left to right, Jim Donnelly, Carl Humphries, Derek Taylor, Neil Moorcroft and Ollie Creed.)
The organisers, Carl Humphries and Jim Holtom, would like to acknowledge the generous donation of 'Two rounds of golf at the Gaudet Luce Golf Club' as the raffle prize which was won by John Bray (non mason).
Derek Taylor participated in the competition and received the cheques totalling £500 on behalf of the 2011 Festival.

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Other Important Dates

Please make a note in your diaries of these other forthcoming Masonic events in the Province, at which we hope to have an excellent level of attendance. Further details will be advised in the near future.

Annual Meeting Provincial Grand Lodge
Saturday 28th June 2008 at 2.00pm: University of Birmingham.
Cathedral Service
Sunday 13th July 2008 at 2.15pm: Worcester Cathedral.

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Promote the Appeal 2011 Online!

article by E.Comp. Richard Harper

Set out below is the url link for the WAMCO homepage at www.everyclick.com. Please ensure that you use this as your home page to raise maximum money for the charity at no cost.
How to promote our charity: This is your pre-configured Everyclick url: http://www.everyclick.com/worcestershire-masonic-charity-organisation/18179/0

All searches made through this link will be raising money for our charity. To those already registered many thanks for your support in helping to raise over £180 to date for the 2011 festival appeal! Please pass on the information to the Companions / Brethren in your Chapter and Lodges. With more members signed up we can raise more on our own searches and have a larger share of the general pot - it all helps to make the appeal a great success. If you are not yet registered please follow the link and use 210408 as your registered charity and every click will then count to the appeal.
To make this your homepage click here.

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Appeal 2011 - Total Reaches £407,321!

as at end April 2008 (inclusive of Gift Aid).

The sum raised to date may look impressive for our relatively small Province, but we are currently a little below target, and further efforts and special events are needed to boost the result. At the last meeting of the Appeal 2011 provincial committee, many different types of event were suggested, and the Charity Steward of each Lodge and Chapter will be encouraged by their WAML representative to organise at least one fundraising event in the coming year, in aid of this most deserving cause. Once you have arranged your Chapter’s fundraising activity, please ensure that you advise the details to us for inclusion in the Chapter News page of this website, to encourage maximum support.

Donate to the Appeal by Standing Order! This is the easiest way for you to help. You can download a standing order for the Appeal by following the links below this section of this website.

Need a Speaker for a forthcoming Meeting?

We will be glad to come along and talk about the Festival, the background to the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls & Boys and how your Lodge can become involved in helping the Province achieve a substantial total by 2011. Hear of the wonderful support provided by RMTGB to assist children of Worcestershire freemasons in hardship or distress. In the past year alone over £100,000 has been provided, to support 23 deserving children in the Province.
Contact the Appeal Manager for your WAML Group, as shown below. WAML Groups are listed in the Provincial Yearbook

WAML Groups

1	Justin Parker & Pete Broughton	2	Richard Harper	3	Pete Ransome
4	Iain Sharratt	5	John Tapson	6	Barry Fitzgerald
7	Vic Southan	8	Bob Clark & Norman Howe	9	David Rice
10	Derek Hopper	11	Kerry Parkes	12	Derek Owen
13	David Bell	2		0

The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls & Boys. – the beneficiary of our fund-raising efforts. Currently they are supporting 22 families in the Province of Worcestershire at a total cost of £65,000 each year. The money you donate is directly helping local Masonic families.

Any problems or queries relating to the Appeal, please contact the Appeal Committee Chairman,
Derek Taylor or the Deputy Chairman, Bob Clark.

Details of other fund raising merchandise can be obtained from Events Manager Richard Harper - Tel. 01386 83379.

Charity Stewards are reminded to please forward all donations to W.M.C.O. at Bromsgrove without delay. Please also continue to encourage Gift Aided donations wherever possible, this boosts the amount donated by 28%. Already we have recouped an extra £42,000 thanks to tax recovered through Gift Aid.

Our total continues to rise, but with just over three years left, we still have much to do, and many more events will be needed. On behalf of the Appeal Fundraising Committee – a big thank you and please, please, keep the donations rolling in!

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Appeal 2011 Fund Raising Ideas & Contacts

The ideas below have already proved successful, and you can obtain further information and guidance from the contacts listed.

• Skittles Evening - hire of mobile skittles alley - contact Bob Clark - Tel. 0121 705 6156
• Frog Racing Night - a race night with a difference - contact Cotswold Frog Racing - Tel. 01608 651109 - or Rob Dewbery - Tel. 01386 700370
• Boxing Night - contact Vic Southan - Tel. 0121 556 1311
• Train Dining Trip - GWR or West Somerset - contact Len Young - Tel. 01386 832702
• Sponsorships - slims, walks, fun runs, etc - for Gift Aid sponsorship form layout, contact David Rice - Tel. 705 3082
• Plant Sales - contact Pete Ransome - Tel. 01905 756669
• Appeal 2011 Lottery - click here for full details

Further ideas include: Golf Days- L. of I. Festivals - Prize Draws & Raffles - Auction of Promises - Carol Concerts.
If you have other suggestions, please contact the Events Manager, Richard Harper - Tel. 01386 83379.

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Appeal 2011 Calendar of Fund Raising Events

Some forthcoming events which you may wish to attend, please use the contacts shown to obtain further details.

Date	Event	Location	Contact / Comments
24 May 2008 noon - 4 pm	Plants Sale	Stourport Masonic Hall	Pete Ransome - Tel. 01905 756669 buy your summer plants in aid of the Appeal
31 May 2008	Group 2 Annual Asparagus Supper	Evesham Masonic Hall	Roger Hendrick - Tel. 01386 832369 £20 - limited to 60
10 June 2008	Golf Day	Gaudet Luce Golf Club Droitwich	C. Humphries - Tel. 01905 452075 £40 including green fees, lunch & evening meal
June 2008	Sponsored Slim		Derek Taylor - Tel. 01527 551841
28 February 2009	Provincial Spring Ball	Copthorne Hotel Merry Hill	Iain Sharratt further details coming soon!

Please contact Events Manager, Richard Harper - Tel. 01386 83379 - to have your Royal Arch fund raising event publicised here.

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About Appeal 2011

Appeal 2011 – Helping Children of Distressed Families in Worcestershire

The Appeal within the Province of Worcestershire to raise funds for the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls & Boys is now well under way. The Provincial Grand Master hopes to generate a substantial total for the Trust by the year 2011.
As we only have three years at our disposal, there is an element of urgency in obtaining your support. Several Lodges and Chapters have already risen to the challenge magnificently, primarily due to the efforts of their very proactive Charity Stewards.
We cannot stress enough that the best way you can donate money to the Appeal is by the use of Gift Aid. This is a simple system whereby any money given by a UK taxpayer to a registered Charity is increased by a rebate from the Inland Revenue equal to the basic rate of tax you have paid on the donation. This means that, if you donate £10, the Inland Revenue will pay £2.82 on top of your £10, making your donation worth £12.82.

Charity Stewards are being asked to encourage every member of their Lodge/Chapter, who pays UK tax, to sign a Gift Aid form. Once completed, every penny a Brother gives over the next five years will benefit from the tax rebate. You can choose to make Gift Aided donations whenever and however you decide. There is a facility to pay monthly by standing order.
Remember – never donate to the Appeal without having first checked that it will be Gift Aided: the rebate the Charity receives from the taxman is so worthwhile, we would be foolish to ignore it!

If you do not pay tax, you cannot use Gift Aid, but you can still make donations.
Many Brethren have already obtained the superb Stewards’ Festival Jewel, which is being worn widely around the Province. Over 900 Festival Jewels have now been issued, and a Ladies' brooch is also planned. £100, either by a one-off payment or by instalments, you can qualify to purchase a Jewel at a cost of £15.00.
An application form for the Jewel, and the other paperwork for use with the Appeal, can be downloaded from this website.

The theme of the Appeal is ‘Your Support – Their Future’. This encapsulates the whole purpose of the Appeal. The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys looks after the families of Freemasons who, sadly, have died, or families who are in financial distress. They are currently supporting 22 families in Worcestershire. Clearly, the Trust only has a finite amount of money available, hence their reliance on Provinces such as ours in raising funds to continue their good work.

Downloads - Appeal 2011 Remittance Sheet / Stewards' Festival Jewel / Regular Payment Form

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

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