Freemasons’ donation helps karate academy fight on
Lincoln members achieve socially-distanced cheque handover for group bringing community together
October 9, 2020
A story from 1841 to warm a Freemason’s heart…
October 9, 2020
A £500 donation from the Freemasons of Crowle-based Trent Valley Daylight Lodge will help a Scunthorpe inclusive martial arts club keep up its work in proving that karate is for everyone.
It’s the Hara Shotokan Academy, which teaches karate to people who are less physically able, and aged from mid-teens to those in their 60s. Instructor Ian McMillan said the training sessions for about 20 students normally took place at Lincolnshire House, the Scunthorpe home to people with cerebral palsy. “But since the Covid-19 restrictions, we’ve not been able to do that. Instead I’ve been going there to do socially-distanced outdoor sessions with just a few students, and catching up with others in their gardens in the evenings. Now the nights are drawing in we’ll switch to the weekends until we can come up with something else,” he said.
The dedication of Ian and his students paid off last year during an international event in Dublin, with one coming home a world champion, and six medal wins – two silver and four bronze.
The Academy was nominated for a £500 donation from Lincolnshire Freemasons’ New Provincial Benevolent Fund, which supports a wide variety of good causes throughout Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, and North East Lincolnshire.
John Foster of Trent Valley Daylight Lodge arranged for handover of the funds to the Academy. He said: “The work Ian does with his students, and the results they achieve together, is remarkable, and worthy of support. Financial backing makes a contribution to all sorts of training aids, as well as help with travel costs. Academy students and instructors are all determined to do the very best they can to promote karate and make it more inclusive. We hope our donation will go at least some way to supporting their efforts, and look forward to them being able to get back to normal training – and winning ways – when the Covid pandemic is over.”
• For information about training, please contact Ian at Lincolnshire House, tel 01724 844168
