Lodge Charity Stewards’ Newsletter

November 2022

Please feel free to share this newsletter with the members of your Lodge either in full or in part.

Potential New TLC Bear

As most of you will know, the TLC Hospital Bears are generally only issued to Hospital A&E Departments. Different Provinces operate slightly different policies on this however and in recent times we have seen them make their way to some Hospices, Refuges, Air Ambulances etc.
Very recently, and with this expansion of remit in mind, the MCF has floated the idea of making a second type of TLC Bear available. This “Support Bear” is pretty much identical to the standard Hospital bear but will come in one colour: a bright orange, and with minor label text changes, see below. It is intended for use in non-A&E environments, where a Province feels that a small bear may still bring comfort.
This idea is still very much at the proposal stage and may not come to fruition. The MCF are currently gathering opinion, but if the project gets off the ground the new Support Bear will be available from next March.

The Provincial Charity Fund Committee

The Trustees are due to meet again not long after this Newsletter goes out. As usual, they will have a full Agenda to consider. Since their last meeting we have received four new Applications for Grants from Charities, all seeking significant funding for Bedfordshire projects. In addition, and amongst many other things, the Trustees will be discussing the Province’s available charitable resources and where best to apply them.
Following this meeting we hope to be able to announce a significant new Grant which will utilise our Matched Funding allowance from the MCF, to maximise impact.
In addition, I will be asking the Trustees for a budget to purchase the donation for this year’s Christmas Treats run to our Hospitals, accompanied by our friends at BEDA. Following the re-introduction of this run last year after two years of Pandemic, these visits are enthusiastically welcomed by Hospital staff.

BEDA Chapter WSMBA

I am always very grateful for the support of the members of BEDA for generously giving their time (and fuel!) in supporting the Province in our various charitable activities. Their presence always turns a presentation into a memorable event.

The BEDA members have also given generously financially. Very recently they fund-raised £1, 448 which they have kindly donated to the Provincial TLC Fund. A part of this will be used to purchase two cartons of TLC Bears, which BEDA will present to Keech Adults & Children’s Hospice. This is a wonderfully generous donation and resonates very well with the TLC scheme’s expansion of remit mentioned in the first item. Well done BEDA.

MCF Impact Report

I think that many of you will have seen the latest Impact Report for Bedfordshire published on the Provincial website. For those unfamiliar with the Annual MCF Impact Report, it shows just how much the MCF donates each year nationally and is also filterable by Province. If you want specific Bedfordshire details I would recommend this link: https://mcf.org.uk/impact/our-work-in-your-community/
The data contained here is useful for Lodge Charity Steward’s in a couple of ways. Firstly, it enables you to demonstrate how Festival funds are returned to the Provinces. It is also handy information to have in your “back pocket” if you need to flesh out your next report to your Lodge.
Save the date – A combined Charity Steward’s seminar and 2026 Festival update is being arranged for the evening of Monday 30th January 2023. Details and Invitations will follow, but please pencil this date into your diaries.
Top tip – We’ve all seen the various MCF leaflets currently available, usually in dispensers in the Lobbies of our centres. However, if you have been asked for a particular leaflet and the dispenser is empty, simply click on this link: https://mcf.org.uk/resources/leaflets/?lm-page=1 and print your own.

Steve Joyce
Provincial Grand Charity Steward