The Shoalhaven Masonic Council of Care
"Charity, the distinguishing characteristic of a Freemason's heart."
Prompted by this worthy sentiment, the brethren of the Masonic District 105 in the Shoalhaven Region resolved, as part of their celebration of the Centenary of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales in 1988, to institute a committee to be known as the ''Council of Care'' to undertake the selection, implementation, and administration of an annual project, or number of projects designed to assist those of the community who are in less fortunate circumstances than themselves.
It was initially envisaged that those who would be most likely to benefit from the scheme would be organisations or individuals from the area as near as possible covered by the lodges of District 105.
The name "CARE l00" was then chosen to designate each appeal and to be qualified each year by the appropriate prefix, e-g-, "The 1988 CARE 100 Appeal" followed by the name of the particular organisation as selected.
Each appeal was to be conducted so as to involve all Masonic brethren, their families and the community generally.
In addition to the fund-raising activities conducted by the Council of Care in support of each appeal it was intended that each lodge should be allowed to continue to arrange its own annual fund-raising event during each appeal period.
The Council of Care consisted of seven brethren comprising one delegate from each district lodge elected annually.
Today, in 1999, more than eleven years since its foundation, the Council of Care, as it is commonly known, continued to operate within the same principles as envisaged by its founders.
However, as times changed, so the Shoalhaven Masonic Council of Care, has adapted to changes occurring not only within Freemasonry, but also within our community.
Those changes were mainly cosmetic, and to accommodate the foundation of a new Lodge in this District. The major departure from the original charter was the manner in which the funds were to be dispersed.
Since 1991, the Council of Care dispenses funds annually in a very brief, but emotive ceremony hosted by the Mayor of the City of the Shoalhaven, Clr Max Atkins, who kindly offered the location at his Chambers.
The funds are normally allocated to Non-Masonic Charities, taking into consideration, where possible, the size of the organisation, as the Council of Care tends to allocate those funds to small rather than large groups.
The recipients are selected every October of each year, and the presentation is effected normally during December prior to the Christmas period.
The proceedings from this scheme benefits groups or individuals within the area covered by the Lodges of the Masonic District from Berry in the north to Milton/Ulladalla in the south.
There is a wide range of considerations in the selection process, as there are many small townships in the Shoalhaven, each with different needs and capacities for raising their own funds. There is also a need to provide not only for the old and infirm, but also for genuine individuals who need temporary assistance regardless of age. Help is also provided to charity groups to which government assistance does not fully compensate its needs.
Below is an example of groups to which some of the funds have been donated:
The Council of Care, as any other organisation dedicated to raise funds for those less fortunate than others, is feeling the pinch of the times; when there is more people needing assistance, it becomes more difficult to raise money.
This is a very brief overview of the activities of the Council of Care. We did not dealt with the fund raising and dispersed by each of the seven individual Lodges within the District.