Community & Charity
What We Give Back
The organisations we support, the people they help, and the funds we raise together. St Winnold Lodge has been part of Downham Market since 1919.
£3,100
In grants this season
4+
Organisations supported
Every meeting
Raffle for member welfare
107
Years in Downham Market
Charitable giving is built into every meeting at St Winnold Lodge. The raffle at every Festive Board goes directly to the Lodge Almoner for member welfare, and grants are made to local and national causes throughout the season.
Below is a record of the organisations we have supported in the 2025/26 season, the people they help, and the difference the giving has made.
Organisations supported, 2025/26
From local community projects in Downham Market to the national Masonic charity.
MCF Norfolk 2027 Festival
St Winnold Lodge donated £2,000 to the Masonic Charitable Foundation's Norfolk 2027 Festival, achieving Diamond Waymark status. The donation was split between the Almoner's account and the Relief Chest. The MCF supports Freemasons, their families, and the wider community through grants, care, and education funding.
mcf.org.uk →1st Ramsden & Downham Scout Group
A £500 grant to support the group's new Squirrels section, providing Scouting activities for children aged 3 to 5. The funding went toward equipment to get the group started. St Winnold Lodge has been part of this town since 1919, and supporting local children's organisations is a natural part of that commitment.
1stramsdendownhamscouts.org.uk →Eternity Church Food Bank, Downham Market
A £300 donation to the Eternity Church food bank, which provides emergency food parcels to families in crisis in Downham Market. Food bank use has risen sharply in recent years, and local provision matters. Members also collected food donations in kind at the December 2025 Festive Board.
eternitydownham.co.uk →Downham Market Boys Brigade
A £300 donation to the Downham Market Boys Brigade, a Christian youth organisation for boys and young men. The grant helped fund air hockey tables and equipment for the group's activities.
boys-brigade.org.uk →The Mayor's Quiz, Downham Market
A team of five members entered the Annual Mayor's Quiz in July 2026, competing alongside businesses and community groups from across the town. The lodge donated a raffle prize on the night. Not every commitment involves a formal grant. Sometimes it means showing up and being part of town life.
Members contribute to causes like this at every meeting. Want to be part of it?
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Remembrance Sunday in Downham Market
Every November, St Winnold Lodge marches through Downham Market in full regalia, carrying a poppy wreath. Members who have known each other for years, walking through a town they are part of.
From previous seasons
Charitable giving is part of every year at St Winnold Lodge.
RNLI: Hunstanton Lifeboat Station
In the 2022/23 season, the Master of St Winnold Lodge chose the RNLI as his charity of the year. Members raised £3,200 through a charity auction and fundraising across the season. One long-standing lodge member put it simply: “It makes you realise how much of their own time all these people give.”
rnli.org →Beaupre Community Primary School, Outwell
The lodge donated £450 to Beaupre Community Primary School in Outwell in June 2024, used to build a shed for the school's new woodland forest school project. A small grant, but one that made something permanent happen.
The Masonic Charitable Foundation
The national Masonic charity. Every Festive Board raffle and collection contributes to the MCF, which supports Freemasons, their families, and the wider community through grants, care, and education funding.
mcf.org.uk →Grand Province of Norfolk
St Winnold Lodge is part of the Grand Province of Norfolk, the provincial body overseeing Masonic lodges across Norfolk under the United Grand Lodge of England.
norfolkfreemasons.org.uk →£50m+
donated by Freemasons in England and Wales to charitable causes every year. Hospitals, hospices, education, and thousands of community projects.
Masonic Charitable Foundation →Lodge Almoner
The raffle at every Festive Board goes to the Lodge Almoner, who uses it to support members and their families facing illness, bereavement, or difficulty. Welfare is part of every meeting.
Food bank collections
At the December 2025 Festive Board, members brought food donations for the Eternity Church food bank. A small thing, but a direct one. The sort of thing the lodge has always done quietly.
See the full season
Ceremonies, dinners, and the moments that made 2025/26.
Want to be part of the giving?
Members contribute to charitable causes at every meeting. Leave your details and we will be in touch. No obligation, no pressure.
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