Freemasons to make 'positive difference' at hospice

An army of Freemasons and volunteers are set to descend on Acorns Children's Hospice in Worcestershire next weekend in a bid to help transform its gardens.

The Worcester-based hospice has recently undergone major construction work, making regular maintenance difficult and leaving parts of the grounds in need of attention.

About 60 to 70 volunteers, including Freemasons from Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, as well as friends and family members, are expected to take part in the two-day project on 13 and 14 June.

Mark Barber, the vice-president of the Worcestershire Freemasons, said: "What we don't want is that space not being enjoyed by children and their families this summer."

He added: "Unfortunately, it could be the last summer some of these kids ever see so it's important we make a real positive difference to the kids and their families this summer."

Barber, who lives in Halesowen and works as a surgical practitioner, said the plan was to start with the Worcestershire Hospice before moving onto Acorns' two other hospices in Birmingham and Walsall.

"It's called the One Two Three Project - that stands for one aim, two days, and three provinces. It will see Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire provinces come together," he explained.

"We're going to start with the Worcestershire hospice, then onto Birmingham, and then onto Walsall."

The 39-year-old added: "The reason we've decided to do what we're doing at the hospices is that each of them has their own little story behind it and a bit of a pain point we're trying to solve.

"The Worcestershire Hospice has just had some quite substantial work done, with all their pathways re-laid," he said.

"They haven't been able to get out there and do anything because of all the construction work going on and they've just lost their head gardener, who's been there for 25 years," he added.

"All of a sudden they're a head gardener short, they've got a huge great garden that's quite overgrown and needs a lot of attention."

Barber said another reason for organising the event was to help create a "closer engagement" with the local community.

"Freemasons get quite a difficult rap sometimes because I don't think people quite understand what we're all about," he said.

"We have sort of thrived for decades on being seen as a secretive society," he said.

"But, in fact, the biggest secret about Freemasonry is there isn't that many secrets.

"What we're really trying to do is to have a much deeper, and closer engagement with our local communities to show there is nothing untoward to being a Freemason."

Barber urged anyone who was interested in joining the Freemasons to contact their local province.

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