St Lukes Hospice

This year 2023, Rainham 3079 Lodge visited St Lukes New Hospice in Thurrock, Last year a number of Rainham members including WBro Graham Curtis-Thomas, WBro Peter Adams & WBro Karl Griffin visited their Basildon facility. Both times to deliver cheques from all the Rainham members it being a recent tradition to pledge rather than sending each other Christmas cards and due to some Covid restrictions still in place and indeed it being such a new veniew, met early in 2023, meeting Jo Lucas the events fund raising officer and assistant Dan Tillbrook, who were both enthusiastic to meet and tell of their new ‘Thurrock hospice’ and generally chat about the services they provide and indeed the help they are always happy to receive, be it by way of people offering to help on the front desk, run the cafeteria (which is open to the public Mon-Fri 9am-2pm to raise funding with homemade cake etc), perhaps offers of gardening or general clear up or help at events (marshalling etc). It wasn’t at all reserved or gloomy, as some may imagine and in supreme condition as you would imagine of a brand new facility in good open surroundings. The staff were buoyant and enthusiastic, wanting to share and obtain ideas and indeed offered to visit lodges to talk about the facility in general & of course again thanked us for the most generous donation from Rainham members. Masons generally are encouraged to visit the café for a very warm welcome in the indoors or great outside of the cafe facility.