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Dear President, Reverend Harry... (our late president)

Well, I cannot believe I have finished my degree and it would have not been possible without the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund's assistance for the past four years. I am very grateful to you all for providing me with a fantastic career and future opportunities. The Masonic Youth Welfare Fund has established me in a position whereby I will lead a fantastic lifestyle as a teacher.

My parents Jan and Paul are very appreciative for what the Fund has done not only for me but my family over the past four years. They are very proud of my achievements but realise I have only made it this far through the assistance I have received from the Fund.

Having finished my degree, I completed my ten week internship on 26th September and had a fabulous time at Ashford Central school, which is 56 km north of Inverell. I was teaching a year 2/3 class unsupervised for the whole ten weeks which was fantastic, as I was responsible for the running of the class without any other teacher watching over my shoulder. I have enclosed the two reports I received from my internship in this letter.

I handed in my last assignment with pleasure last Monday and what a relief that was. No more days and nights spent in front of the computer typing out thousands of words. I was talking to my lecturer last Friday and I passed my assignment, although she has not awarded grades yet as the majority of students have not handed it in as it is not due until the end of this month.

I was notified last week that I should receive my casual approval number sometime this week, to teach. So that will enable me to begin casual teaching for the remainder of the year which will be good. I do not find out if I have a permanent teaching position until the end of the year, so I will be waiting with anticipation. On my application form I nominated that I was prepared to work in most regions of NSW, excluding Moree and Sydney districts. I would not mind teaching out west for a few years so that my transfer points will quickly accumulate.

I would like to thank everyone at the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund for what you have all done, you are a fantastic group of people devoting your time and resources to not only myself but to many other individuals who may not have had the opportunities forwarded to them otherwise.

I promise to keep in contact over the next few months to tell you where I am heading with my career. Thank you all once again and keep doing what you are all doing because it is a fantastic thing making a positive contribution to the lives of many needy children.

Yours sincerely,
Melinda Kent

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John Wright from Mt Waverley in Victoria writes: My mother and father were married in 1951, and subsequently had three children, being born in 1952, 1953 and 1955. My father worked as a station manager at Binalong and in October of 1956, whilst walking to the Boorowa show grounds to meet with his brother he was killed by a hit and run driver.

We moved into a house in Boorowa at the time, and we attended Boorowa Central Public School as we became old enough. This was a school that only went to Year 8 in those days, if my memory served me correctly.

I believe an uncle of ours, Herb Wilder of Greenethorpe was involved in the process of getting us accepted into the Masonic School and in April 1962 we drove down to Sydney (for the first time ever) and were deposited at the school in Baulkham Hills. We were there until we finished our secondary education, which for me was at the end of 1970, also for Peter (now deceased) he finished at the end of Year 11 in 1970 and Frank completed Year 12 at the end of 1973, so between us we completed about 30 years of time there. Quite extraordinary! (we did go home on school holidays).

We were part of a school community which was very tight and close and with the shared experience of having had a father who had been a Mason and in most cases was now deceased. In what was a rather unique situation, most of the staff also had this background and the male staff in particular were ex students of the school.

Looking back now and with a bit more maturity, I can't help but admire tremendously the vision of William Thompson and his ability along with the Masonic Lodges to transform this vision into reality. I think even in this day and age, where we have a lot of more money etc, the Masonic School is an incredible achievement. Not only were magnificent physical surrounds created (most of which can still be seen today) but Masons for decades worked tirelessly to support the thousands of children who lived there.

We were treated with fairness and strictness according to the values of the time. We were fed well, housed well and given a set of values for life in the upbringing that was imparted to us. We were taught to work hard and to be responsible for ourselves. We were also taught to work with others.

Speaking for myself, I was able to achieve a level of education, that would have been very difficult in Boorowa, as my mother would have been unable to afford to have me sent to Boarding school to complete my secondary education.

I was able to finish Year 12 (or Form 6 in those days) with a pass sufficiently good enough to enter the Faculty of Agriculture at Sydney University. In my first year at University the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund very generously supported me, by firstly finding accommodation for me, paying my university fees, then giving me a weekly allowance and adequate funding to pay for textbooks. All this was pretty amazing. From my second year onwards, I was able to fund myself.

I eventually finished university, with a major in Entomology. I had several jobs with CSIRO, before travelling for quite a few years. After that I worked in the tourist industry for some time and went back to university to get a teaching qualification. Since then l have been a secondary teacher of Science and in some of my spare time put a lot of time into giving something back by being a palliative care volunteer and also teaching people relaxation techniques and meditation.

It is very clear to me that a lot of what I have been able to achieve in this life has been due to the assistance that I received from the Masonic Fraternity, for which I feel forever grateful and to whom I feel greatly indebted.

My two brothers when they left school were also assisted to find training and accommodation to get them started. My youngest brother is an electrician successfully running his own business. My family and I are sincerely grateful.

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To The Secretary
Masonic Youth Welfare Fund

Dear Sir,

Last week I was presented by the Governor General, as part of the 2003 Australia Day Honours Awards, with a Public Service Medal for Outstanding Public Service to Education.

I want to use this opportunity to extend to the Fund my appreciation for the assistance given to me in the past that has enabled me to make a positive contribution to society represented by this award.

I attended the Masonic School from 1950 to 1959. I was then assisted by the Fund to obtain my science degree in 1963, a diploma of education in 1964 and I started my career teaching Mathematics in Canberra in 1965. I have remained in Canberra since that time with a career in both the Commonwealth and ACT Public Service, I obtained a Masters degree in Education in 1993 with first class honours and university medal.

I would hope that this recognition could be shared in some way with the Fund as an indication of the way in which the work of the Fund continues on long after the original support. I will always be eternally grateful not only for the start I was given in life, but in particular for the values I received as part of my Masonic School education.

Yours sincerely,
Robert Edwards

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Nancy*

Nancy is an Arts Student at university and is being assisted by the Fund. She is the second of four siblings whose mother was shot dead by their estranged father who is currently serving 17 years for the murder.

Nancy's maternal grandparents took over the responsibility of keeping the family together. The Fund also helped the younger sisters and visited the family.

They are now returning to normality following their trauma and Nancy has progressed particularly well.

* Name changed for privacy.

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Anthony*

Anthony has an unfortunate and unhappy background. His parents' marriage is an on and off arrangement which has been quite damaging to him and, particularly, his self-confidence.

His father doesn't take an active part in his family responsibilities but, fortunately, Anthony met a young lady whose family befriended him. They helped him regain his self-confidence and encouraged Anthony and their daughter to begin tertiary studies.

Anthony was offered a place at university to study Architecture. The Principal of the College, a non-Mason, was aware of the good work of the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund and, on Anthony's behalf, approached the Fund for assistance.

This was granted and Anthony is demonstrating admirable self-assuredness, is progressing very well and is looking forward to a bright professional future.

* Name changed for privacy.

FOOTNOTE:

The Masonic Youth Welfare Fund has always worked positively for the benefit of Freemasonry and the United Grand Lodge of NSW and the ACT in particular. The Fund has always maintained respect, pride and approval of its good work. In September 2001, the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund accepted full responsibility and authority for the children of the William Thompson Masonic School from the United Grand Lodge of NSW and the ACT. The School no longer exists; however the need continues. For more than 80 years, the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund given needy children an equal opportunity regardless of race, colour, creed or Masonic affiliation.