Hope House in Morda has been boosted by a grant from the Staffordshire and Shropshire Freemasons.
FREEMASONS from Shropshire and Staffordshire have awarded a grant of £8,000 to a well-known Oswestry hospice that supports children in palliative care to help redesign its building.
The grant from the Staffordshire and Shropshire Mark Freemasons is for Hope House Childrens’ Hospice, outside Oswestry, and has been awarded through the Mark Benevolent Fund (MBF), and will be used towards the charity’s project to redesign its children’s activity rooms within its hospice.
Vanessa Baldy, trusts manager at Hope House, explained how the money will be used.
She said: “We’re very grateful to Staffordshire and Shropshire Mark Freemasons for their generous grant.
“The redesign of the hospice activity rooms will be focused on ensuring that the hospice is an environment where every child and young person can engage and play.
“Every element of the redesign is being carefully thought out from the flooring and lighting, to the installation of interactive technology.
“We want to create an environment that the children can control themselves; we are installing touch sensitive switches which allow children to control the lighting, the television and games consoles.
“The activities will be fully multisensory with interactive lights, sounds, smells and lots to explore via touch.
“The majority of activities in the rooms will be flexible and moveable allowing the child or the staff member supporting the child to tailor the environment and activities to the individual or small group using the space.”
Michael Heenan from Staffordshire and Shropshire Mark Freemasons said: “I’m very pleased we’ve been able to assist Hope House Children’s Hospices.
“They do an outstanding job caring for seriously ill local children and their families.”
The grant is one of nine grants totalling £35,000 given to hospices in Staffordshire and Shropshire from the Mark Benevolent Fund.
In total £1.25million has been donated to hospices all over England and Wales in recognition of a lifetime of service and dedication to the Crown and the nation by His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
The MBF was established in 1868 and is the official charity of the Grand Lodge of Mark Masons and provides grants to registered charities and other worthwhile organisations.