Media

One of our core values, and an important commitment at the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), is the support of families in the Freemasonry community across England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.

For this issue of Better Lives, we wanted to take a closer look at the support that is available for children and young people. The MCF could be the helping hand that many families are looking for as they try to balance rising daily living costs, navigate waiting lists for support, as well as ensuring their children benefit from wider opportunities and experiences to support their development.

Families come in many shapes and sizes, and at the MCF we strive to offer support to all eligible Freemasons and their dependants, including their grandchildren, in times of difficulty and distress. In most cases, a distress is unforeseen. No amount of planning or preparation can avoid the situation and it often comes with a financial impact. Events such as redundancy, accidents or illness that result in a drop in income, death of a family member, separation of parents or care givers, can result in challenging and often very isolating situations. No matter how careful you are to protect children from the impact of stress, trauma and change, these situations will often cause changes and challenges in the behaviour of our young ones. By contacting the MCF, families may be able to access support that could lessen the negative impact that a family crisis may have on children and enable them to continue their journey to reach their full potential.

When contacting us, we will ask about the event that led to the call. Our Enquiries team will listen carefully, allow you to talk about your situation and acknowledge if we can help. We will ask for information about your household’s financial situation. We understand this is a very sensitive area to discuss on the phone, but we need to assess whether we can help. We take our financial benchmarks from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), a well-known national charity that researches family incomes and the minimum requirement to meet daily living costs.

This issue features personal stories from families we’ve supported, sharing their first-hand experiences of financial hardship. The stories showcase how our support has significantly impacted their lives, all thanks to the generous donations from Freemasons, their friends and families.

Claire Smith

Advice, Support & Enquiries
Manager and Designated Safeguarding Lead at the MCF