Members of Grey Friars Lodge No. 4990 in Northampton have been putting together food parcels to give to the Hope Centre in Northampton.

The Hope Centre's main focus is tackling poverty through services and campaigning. They also help people with other needs: isolation, loneliness, addictions, mental health problems, abuse, trauma, as well as people who have none of these problems, but are just short of money. The linking theme is poverty, and poverty is central to the charity's mission.

The Hope Centre strives to support people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic particularly those who are furloughed, unemployed, or subject to zero-hour contracts

Donations of non-alcoholic food and drink items such as pasta, tinned beans, fish, potatoes, etc. are greatly appreciated. Also, female sanitary products, soaps and toothpaste. Gifts such as chocolate selection boxes provide additional treats for the children at Xmas.

One of the Grey Friars' food parcels

At this time of year, charities like the Hope Centre would normally benefit from church and schools holding harvest-festival events, but the current situation has prevented these from taking place.

The Grey Friars initiative has been spearheaded by lodge almoner, WBro Steve Mills, who has been ably assisted by his wife, Gill, and lodge chaplain, WBro Mark Capel.

Their aim is to provide around 30-food-parcels or hampers, which they will collect and transport to the Hope Centre (following COVID-19 guidelines, of course).

Steve hopes that even if the members just add a couple of items to their normal shopping list, they will be able to achieve their goal. He said:

This awful pandemic has placed many people in poverty who would never have envisaged requiring assistance to support their family, I cannot imagine how frightening it must be to be unable to feed my family, but this is now a real prospect for many working families. With our support, perhaps we can alleviate some of that anxiety and stress.

The response from the Lodge has been so positive that Steve and Mark, helped by Steve’s wife Gill, have already delivered one round of collections with another scheduled for later this week.

WBro Steve, WBro Mark, and WBro Steve's wife, Gill, making their first delivery!

Charity is at the heart of Freemasonry and this initiative is just one example of the way local Freemasons are supporting the more vulnerable members of their local community.

The Hope Centre has also received a long-term grant of £60,000, which was made on behalf of the Province by the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) as part of Freemasonry’s ongoing community support.