As part of our Tercentenary celebrations, Berkshire Freemasons are donating £4,000 toWest Berkshire Therapy Centre helping towards their appeal raising funds for new buildings and equipment.

Opened in April 2014, West Berkshire Therapy Centre is a specialised therapy gym for people with disabilities in West Berkshire and surrounding areas. It is a not-for-profit organisation, supported by voluntary donations.

The Community Awards are a major part of Freemasonry’s 300th anniversary celebrations. The Masonic Charitable Foundation is distributing three million pounds to 300 charities across the country, with the public vote deciding on the range of Awards from £4,000 to £25,000. The £3million fund is being administered by the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which obtains all its funding from Freemasons, their families and friends.

Julian Pacey, Assistant Provincial Grand Master of Berkshire Freemasons, visited the charity and presented the award to Irene Walters. Julian commented on the tremendous work the Trust does to provide therapy services to the disabled and infirm people in the Newbury area and that Berkshire Masons are delighted to help support this great project.

Irene Walters–Trustee said: “We are thrilled with this generous award from Berkshire Freemasons, it will help us in the delivery of our services to the people of Newbury and Thatcham as well as helping our appeal to purchase of the land for our gym. Exercise is key to help people recover from stroke, Parkinson’s and arthritis”

Martin Peters, Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire Freemasons said: “We are delighted to be able to celebrate three hundred years of Freemasonry by helping excellent local charities like the West Berkshire Therapy Centre. We’ve been active in charity work for all that time but this is the first occasion we’ve asked the public to help us decide how to spend our money. We are very pleased that so many people from Berkshire took part in the vote.”