© JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Tsunami victimes struggle to reach relief goods dropped by a US Seahawk helicopter at Banda Aceh, Indonesia
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The Craft has responded magnificently to
the Tsunami appeal after Raymond Lye,
President of the Grand Charity, authorised
an emergency grant of £100,000 to the
British Red Cross appeal for help following
the South East Asia tragedy.
This grant was used by the Red Cross
towards the initial flight, which carried
emergency relief items to the worst affected
areas. These supplies included clothes,
medical kits, cooking equipment and
emergency shelters.
In addition, the President authorised
emergency grants to the District Grand
Lodge of Sri Lanka (£25,000) and the
District Grand Lodge of Madras (£10,000).
The Grand Charity has also opened a
Relief Chest for anyone wishing to make
a donation to assist victims of the disaster.
Raymond Lye said: “The level of support
given to this appeal so far has been
overwhelming. More than £560,000
has been deposited in the Relief Chest.
Such generosity is sincerely appreciated.”
In January, the Council of the Grand
Charity decided that all future funding
would be directed towards long-term
assistance to support the children orphaned
or otherwise affected by the disaster.
As a result, at the annual meeting of
the Grand Charity, it was agreed that the
Council could approve a specific project for
the use of the funds from the Relief Chest.
In addition to these amounts, sums from
time to time held in the Relief Chest Account
will also go to this project, and discussions
are being held with specialist international
charities operating in the affected areas, to
identify suitable projects or purposes.
Individual Masons as well as Lodges and
Chapters have been sending donations to the
Relief Chest, and charity stewards have been
working long and hard to ensure that the
final amount will be a bumper contribution
towards helping the thousands of victims
of the disaster.
To make a donation to this fund, a
cheque made payable to “The Grand
Charity” should be sent to its office at 60
Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ,
together with a covering note stating that the
money is to be paid into the “Asian Tsunami
2004 Floods Relief Chest No. E0091”.
UK taxpayers can increase the overall
size of their donation by allowing the Grand
Charity to reclaim the tax via Gift Aid.
For every £1 donated a further 28p will
be added to the appeal. For further
information, telephone the Relief Chest
office on 020 7395 9246 or 020 7395 9361.
Donations can also be made by direct
transfer into the Grand Charity’s bank
(your own bank may charge for this service).
Such donations should:
— Show clearly who they are from
— (the donor’s name)
— Be marked “E0091” and
— Be paid into the following account:
Coutts & Co., St Martin’s Office Branch,
440 Strand, London WC2B 0QS. Sort Code:
18-00-02; Account No: 25852351; Account
Name: The Grand Charity of Freemasons
under the United Grand Lodge of England
“Relief Chest No. 1”.
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