A double helping of fundraising from The Lodge of Dawn has provided the community with vital PPE and a new 4G football pitch.
The Lodge of Dawn, one the two predominantly Jewish freemasons lodges in Leeds, has secured a brace of grants for the north Leeds
community. The first of these grants was proposed and sponsored by the lodge for the benefit of Leeds Jewish Housing Association. The £2,000 of emergency funds donated from the West Riding Masonic Charities will go towards PPE and consumables for Stonegate Road residents. Craig Simons, operations director at LJHA said: “It was such a great surprise to receive this grant and will make such a difference to us in these challenging times. When the pandemic commenced, we had no budget for this additional PPE and throughout the crisis our support team have been on site looking after over 300 older people. This generous contribution will ensure that we can maintain our services and continue to protect our residents and staff over the coming months.”
Leeds lodge members have also sponsored a grant of £24,700 for the Chapeltown Youth Development Centre (CFDC) on Scott Hall Road.
The funds, also given by the West Riding Masonic Charities, will assist in the development of a multi-use games area to be re-laid with 4G
AstroTurf and surrounded by fencing. On a rainy weekend morning in May, four hardy members of the lodge visited the centre to see the existing facilities and to hear how the grant would change so much for the recipients. They were fortunate enough to speak to some of the dedicated staff at the centre as well as the grateful children and their parents.
It is hoped that work on the sports ground will start in August and the lodge has plans to be involved in its opening, even possibly fielding
a five-a-side team. Jake Boyd, who runs the club’s foundation age teams, commented: “We’re so thankful, it’s a big relief. It’s going to help a lot of kids. The club is hugely important in the local area. It keeps the kids from doing stuff we don’t want them to be doing and it actually engages them in something positive.
“The pitch will be a major asset not only for the club’s youngsters, but also for the whole community – anyone will be able to book it out.”