EIGHTY five Freemasons, wives and guests enjoyed a presentation evening at Hoyle Court, in Baildon, where more than £10,000 was presented to a number of organisations.

Provincial Grand Master David Pratt delivered a keynote speech and challenged Yorkshire Masons to take on yet more charitable work within the community.

He said: "While fully recognising the impressive awards that we have seen this evening, I am asking Masons in the Province of West Riding to do even more.

“I ask myself why is it that we still have hungry people in the region and see food banks being operated to prevent them from starving?

“The fact is that we have this situation so I would ask Province of Yorkshire, West Riding Masons to deliver even more than their current charitable efforts and get to work in our communities by addressing the challenges now being faced.”

He also noted that this latest round of awards proved to underline that the Province’s charitable giving does make a difference within communities.

The evening was launched by the young members of the Performance Drama School who treated the assembled audience to a musical rendition.

The school was one of the award winners. Sponsored by Baildon Chapter they received £750 to purchase a new sound amplification system and body microphones and it was revealed by their spokeswoman that it was their first grant success in their 15-year existence.

Other awards went to: Cullingworth Village Hall which received £3,000 for kitchen equipment in the new village hall and were sponsored by Scientific Lodge. Spen Valley District Scouts, who were sponsored by Friendship Lodge received £500 to replace two old grass sledges; Baildon Church of England School backed by the Lodge of Charity which received £2,500 to provide a new ‘Trim Trail’ at the school; Down Syndrome Training and Support which, supported by Shirley Lodge, received £2,500 for new carpeting in the training centre; Marie Curie which received a grant of £1,184 from the Masonic Charitable Foundation towards its continuing care of terminally ill cancer patients in Bradford and the Children’s International Summer Village project, sponsored by the Lodge of Peace, towards continuing its work of international understanding among young people.