EIGHT charities have each been awarded thousands of pounds each after a public vote to mark 300 years of Freemasonry.
Durham Provincial Grand Master, Norman Eric Heaviside, and David Innes, Chief Executive Officer from the Masonic Charitable Foundation presented £79,000 at a ceremony in the Lancastrian Suite in Dunston, Gateshead.
Hartlepool Special Needs Support Group was awarded £25,000, while Café JJ and Northumbria Blood Bikes each received £15,000.
Other awards were made to Teesdale Disability Access Forum, Centrepoint North East, Coast, The Bridge Young Carers and St Mary’s Community Association.
Mr Heaviside said: “We’ve been active in charity work for all that time, but this is the first occasion we’ve asked the public to help us decide how to spend our money”.
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