The Teddies for Loving Care Charity (TLC) was represented at Freemasons Hall, Great Queen St on the occasion of the Middlesex Royal Arch Annual Convocation on Monday 24th June 2024. As explained by the Provincial TLC representative,
“The TLC is all about bringing comfort to children and young people in hospitals, made possible by donations from Lodges and Chapters across the Middlesex Province and by the Freemasons who volunteer their time to deliver bears to the Central, North, West, Ealing, Northwick Park, Ashford and Hillingdon hospitals in Middlesex (including the Hampton Shooting Stars Children’s hospice) and Kingston in Surrey.
Since the Middlesex Province joined the TLC initiative back in 2005, we’ve handed out over 32,000 teddies to hospitals across the Province. The volunteers put in countless hours every year to manage the programme, delivering bears to hospitals, raising funds, managing the E0194 relief chest for donations to the Charity and by spreading the word through events such as the Craft AGM and dedicated Lodge and Chapter talks.
Middlesex TLC Representative, Campbell Caraher, accompanied by TLC Treasurer Rob Davies and fellow TLC volunteer Mick Blake were on hand to explain to the Companions attending the AGM about how the scheme works and were able to congratulate Excellent Companions John Leggett ProvGSN and Mandeep Sehmi ProvGStwd on both of their well-deserved appointment and promotion in the Royal Arch.
The TLC Patronage Scheme (the idea borrowed from Surrey TLC Representative Steve Butwell) has been a great success in Middlesex over the past year with 12 of the 40 Chapters contacted, joining and donating to the scheme, 7 Chapters hoping to donate to the scheme in the future with another 21 Chapters yet to respond.
The remaining Chapters across the Province, who haven’t already been invited to join the Patronage scheme will be contacted directly before the end of the year in the hope that they will become TLC Patrons.
