On Saturday 20th May Nottage Lodge No. 8452, held a Ladies Dining evening during which a generous donation of £2,000 was made to SSAFA (The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen Families Association).
SSAFA is a military charity founded in 1885 and operates all around the world. It offers help to all members and veterans of the armed forces together their dependents. This help takes on many forms e.g. from financial assistance in times of need, assistance in finding accommodation, medical intervention and arranging mentoring and counselling.
SSAFA was represented by Lt Col (Ret’d) Wayne Cullen (Area Secretary) and W Bro Emlyn Huish (Area Treasurer). Both Wayne and Emlyn talked of the history and works of SSAFA giving examples the practical assistance given locally such as; upgrading the damp and run down house of a 90year old widow, acquiring a very specialised electric wheelchair and installing a lift in the house of a person suffering from a quickly progressing and debilitating disease, to finding suitable accommodation for a disabled person and mentoring some who need life skills.
On behalf of SSAFA we would like to thank the Master and Members of Nottage Lodge for their generous gift and encouragement to ensure that SSAFA can make a difference to the lives of those in need. On a personal note, thank you to the Master W.Bro. Cliff Williams for the warm welcome, W.Bro. Dave Lewis for presenting the cheque and W.Bro. Richard Mallison for facilitating our visit.