LOCAL charity Dorothy House Hospice Care has been awarded a £1,550 grant by Wiltshire Freemasons through the Masonic Charitable Foundation.

Anna Robertson, DHHC's grants and trusts fundraiser, said: “We are so grateful to receive this much-needed funding from the Masonic Charitable Foundation."

The funding will go towards supporting the wide range of palliative and end-of-life care services provided by the Hospice.

It comes in addition to further funding received from MCF earlier in 2019, which is enabling new support groups for bereaved people in the community.

The Masonic Charitable Foundation supports hospices nationwide and this grant is just one of 218 grants to hospices around the country from Freemasons, in total £750,000 was donated to hospices all over England and Wales in 2019.

This includes £300,000 which was distributed to each hospice that receives less than 60 per cent NHS funding.

A further £450,000 will be provided to individual hospices across England and Wales via Hospice UK, the national charity for hospice care.

MCF is partnering with Hospice UK to widen access and address barriers to local hospice services for local people who are homeless or have learning disabilities. Contributions from Freemasons to hospices have exceeded £13 million in England and Wales since 1984.

Ms Robertson added: "Without the support of organisations like the Freemasons and businesses and individuals in our community, we wouldn’t be able to provide the care and support that’s so vital for patients and families.

"Our thanks to all involved in giving us this grant to support the work of the Hospice.”

Des Morgan, provincial communication officer at the Masonic Charitable Foundation, said: “We are pleased that the cause of end-of-life care at Dorothy House has been chosen to receive this grant from the Masonic Charitable Foundation via the Wiltshire Freemasons.

"We wish the Hospice every success for the year ahead as they do an outstanding job helping people with life-limiting conditions, as well as supporting families through very difficult times.”

To find out more about Dorothy House visit www.dorothyhouse.org.uk. For information on the Masonic Charitable Foundation visit www.mcf.org.uk