Order of the Eastern Star donates thousands to local charities

By Theodora MacLeod - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on September 12, 2023.

A Lethbridge Masonic organization has handed out more than $7,000 to help several charities better help the people they serve.
The Laurel Chapter 43 Order of the Eastern Star, which has existed in Lethbridge for more than a century, donated $7,419.63 to six charities. The donations, which were divied out Monday at the Masonic Lodge downtown, may be the final donations made by the Laurel chapter before its expected consolidation with another chapter in late October.
Amber Darroch, a board member for the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation, said the $1,000 the foundation received will go toward all functions of the hospital. In the past year money raised has been used to purchase a non-invasive ventilator for the NICU, and equipment that allows the hospital to screen for bladder cancer.
“The hospital is something that is relevant to everyone,” Darroch said.
As it kicks off its Mindful Munchies campaign today, the Lethbridge Food Bank is also the recipient of support from the Order of the Eastern Star, and received $500.
“We’ve really started to see our community need our services more,” said Mac Nichol, executive director of the food bank.
Nichol, citing inflation as the cause of the increase in demand, said that while the food bank sees a lot of support from the community during the holiday season, receiving support at other times of the year is a big help.
Vanessa Mickel with STARS air ambulance said the $2,000 the organization received will go directly to supporting the free services STARS offers to those needing emergency medical transportation. From fuel for the helicopters to medical equipment, the donation will support the organization at the end of a long forest fire season that has seen increased demand for its services.
Harbour House, an initiative of the YWCA, offers emergency shelter to woman and children in need. External director, Cat Champagne says the $1,000 donation the initiative received from the Order of the Eastern Star will be used to meet the needs of the women and children staying at Harbour House.
The Lethbridge Soup kitchen, which offers three meals a day for anyone needing a meal, provides up to 10,000 meals a month. Executive director Bill Ginther said the $500 donation from the Laurel Chapter will help the kitchen continue to feed its guests. He added there is no application process to use the services of the soup kitchen and anyone who arrives needing a meal will be fed. He encouraged residents that as the weather gets colder, to remember it’s more important than ever to extend compassion to those without a shelter.
Lt. Zach Marshall, community ministries officer with the Salvation Army of Lethbridge, accepted a $2,419.63 donation and said the money will go a long way to support community members needing support.
“These past number of years we’ve seen historic demand for our services, levels we have not seen since the Second World War,” Marshall said.
While some of the money will go toward supporting Christmas programs, some of the other services provided by the Salvation Army include food baskets, financial support, and providing warm clothing, among other things.
“See a need, fill a need, that’s kind of just what we do.”
The Order of the Eastern Star is a purely philanthropic organization that redistributes all the money it raises to local charities.

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