Another great example of the community being inspired by what Masons do and coming together with Mark Masonry and the Craft Freemasons to help our community.
Each year the Karen Shiel School of Dance organises a charity show and this year they decided in conjunction with Union Mark Lodge, to donate the proceeds to the TLC Teddies project run by the Craft Freemasons.
On Friday 9th August over 150 young people, age 4 to 18, from all across the Northeast came together to put on a show with a purpose. That purpose was to raise funds for the TLC Teddies. The show, Dance Atlantic, took place at the prestigious and historic Sunderland Empire Theatre.
The idea came from the producer Karen Smith, wife of Mark Smith who is a member of Union Mark Lodge. This is the 10th fundraising show she has produced after the initial success with the show for the 2012 festival. She had been inspired by the good work done by TLC Teddies and loves the idea of children helping children.
Twenty-seven Teddies were adorned with exclusive t shirts displaying the show logo and were bought as good luck gifts for some of the performers. On the evening of the show the TLC Teddies team came along and rehomed a further 57 Teddies, and along with the sale of the programs and pin badges, a fantastic amount of £615 was raised. Further to this the children, their friends and families are now more aware of this fantastic project which provides soft teddies to Urgent Care centres to help calm distressed children when they are in need of treatment. From the many stories received from families and hospital staff, the teddies reduce the trauma for children and provide some comfort in difficult circumstances.
For more details of the Karen Shiel School of Dance visit : www.sunderland.dance
For more details of the TLC Teddies project visit : http://www.durhamfreemasons.org/charity/tlc-teddies/
