Community Chest fundraisers end two-year cash giveaway with £6,000 award to help homeless families in Portsmouth

The Community Chest campaign was launched by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Freemasons, in association with The News, to hand out money to deserving community groups across the region.

And the biggest and best was saved until last as the lid was finally closed on the chest with a special award of £6,000 handed over to Portsmouth Community Housing Trust (PCHT). The trust is currently renovating and converting two disused properties in Angerstein Road in North End and hopes to provide a roof over the head of the first families by the end of the year.

Trust chairman Fr Bob White said: ‘Thank you to all who have supported the masons in raising funds for the Community Chest and especially for the generous donation to PCHT. This will help us to provide homes for our first two families in the refurbished houses in Angerstein Road. It helps us all to address the unseen issue of homelessness - a lack of affordable housing.'

The Community Chest initiative grew out of a series of fundraising raffles held during the Covid lockdowns for good causes by freemasons Graham and Sue Lant, Andrew Coombs and Colin Rattley.

The partnership with The News was formed to spread the word further of the generosity of the freemasons and to reach a wider number of good causes. In a series of special events, grants have been presented to youth support group Motiv8, food provider Cosham Larder, the Solent MS Therapy Centre, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, MHA Communities Gosport and Fareham, The Rainbow Centre and Fareham Monday Club.

The final grant was handed over at the Cosham Masonic Centre in an event attended by Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Tom Coles, Hampshire Deputy Lord Lieutenant Mrs Arabella Birdwood and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Provincial Grand Master Jon Whitaker.

Introducing the event on behalf of the freemasons and welcoming the guests, Roger Maber said: ‘Tonight sees the culmination of a remarkable initiative, set up by Graham Lant and his team during the early days of the pandemic. All the money has come from local freemasons whose generosity has really made a difference. The donation to the Portsmouth Community Housing Trust is the largest given and will have a positive impact on the homeless.’

Publishing editor of The News Mark Waldron added his own thanks, saying: ‘Community Chest was born from two journeys coming together - my own discovery of the incredible and unsung fundraising carried out by the freemasons and the raffles launched by Graham, Sue and the team.

‘We’ve helped many great causes along the way and my thanks goes to everybody who has played a part. But special praise goes to all freemasons who have made this possible and made a huge difference in our communities thanks to their generosity.’

As part of the raffle on the night Wendy Campion, of the Blue Box Cake Company, designed and made a cake based on the PCHT logo.