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To facilitate and foster relations among Freemasons who are or were involved in Youth Work
The Kindred Lodges Association supported the celebration of the centenary of Scouting by undertaking a number of projects.
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Baden-Powell's Caravan "Eccles"
The caravan was presented to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of The Scout Association in 1929 at the 3rd World Scout Jamboree. The caravan is displayed at Gilwell Park and the KLA raised over £8,000 in order to fund the restoration of the caravan.
21st World Scout Jamboree
The KLA provided active support to the building of the 21st World Scout Jamboree held in July / August 2007 at Hylands Park, Chelmsford.
Other projects undertaken by kindred Lodges to support the Centenary of Scouting included:
UK Visit of the Hon. Michael Baden-Powell
The Hon. Michael Baden-Powell is a grandson of the founder of the Scout Association, and heir to the barony of Baden-Powell of Gilwell. He is also a Freemason (a Past Master of Baden-Powell Lodge no 488, Grand Lodge of Victoria, Australia) and kindly agreed to present a lecture on three occasions during a visit to the UK in 2007. The lectures were hosted by Kudu Lodge (no 9662, Hertfordshire) on 16th May, Pioneer Lodge (no 9065, Derbyshire) on 19th June, and by Walesby Forest Lodge (no 9674, Nottinghamshire) on 20th June.
Jamboree Meeting
Venturer Lodge no 7897 hosted a warm hearted and musical meeting entitled "Scouting and Freemasonry, A Brotherhood" on Saturday 4 August 2007 at Chelmsford Masonic Hall.
The Scout Lodge of Mark Master Masons 1907
The purpose of the Lodge is to create a channel of support for Scouting from within Mark Masonry.  We are drawing members from across the constitution and will meet twice a year in different Provinces.  At these meetings (3rd Saturday in June & 3rd Saturday in September) we hope to invite local Scouters, to tell us about local developments and needs, and local Mark Masons, to see how they might be able to support Scouting.  The Installation meeting will be in Derbyshire (3rd Saturday in February).  We will not seek candidates for Advancement but will Advance senior Scouters / Masons if appropriate. In such cases we will encourage them to also join a local Mark Lodge.

The Lodge will seek permission from the appropriate Provinces to meet in Dorset (near to Brownsea island) in June 2010 and in Chingford (near to Gilwell Park) in September 2010.

The consecration will be on Saturday 31 October, 2009.  It will be held at Derby Masonic Hall (capacity ~250). Booking details available here.
Freemasonry supports Scouting
The Freemasons  Grand Charity (www.grandcharity.org) has recently confirmed a grant of £500,000 to The Scout Association to assist with the development of Scouting and specifically to make sure young people get the chance to do more outdoor activities. This grant will be paid over five years.

Why has the Grand Charity donated this money?
The Grand Charity is a registered charity that donates money to support the work of other charities in the areas of youth opportunities, medical research, vulnerable people and hospices.  All monies donated by The Grand Charity come from the 330,000 Freemasons who are members of over 8,600 Lodges in towns and cities across England and Wales.

Both Scouting and Freemasonry aim to help people develop a sense of purpose, personal responsibility, care and service.  Many Freemasons were formerly Scouts and some still are.  The Grand Charity recognises that Scouting does good work in helping young people to develop and wants to help The Scout Association to achieve more.  

How will the money be used?
The money will help support getting more young people taking part in outdoor activities and to join youth organisations.  This campaign will help Scouting to reach more young people, including the 30,000 that are on waiting lists for Scout Groups up and down the country.  

The funds will be available through small grants made to local groups and applications can be made through the Development Grants Board 

Grants could be made to help organise local events, to publicise activities, to recruit new leadership teams, to start a new Scout Group, to support adventurous or unusual or challenging activities or anything else that you think will help to get Scouting started and outdoor activities running where they don’t at present.

What other support is there?
In addition to the new funding that will help Scouts do more outdoor activities local Freemasons may be able to offer additional help and support. This support may take the form of providing premises for team meetings, offering advice and help to get organising committees and Group Executives off the ground, advising on fundraising or providing a range of the professional and practical skills that all volunteer groups find so necessary.  You can contact Lodges through the local Provincial Office (similar to a Scout County or Area) which may be found at http://www.ugle.org.uk/provinces/lodges/hlodges.htm . . 

Indeed, some Lodges have been formed specifically for people with an interest in Scouting and other forms of youth work.  These Lodges are part of the Kindred Lodges Association (www.KindredLodges.org.uk).  It is worth asking if the province has a Kindred Lodge in their area.  Or you can contact the Kindred Lodges Association through www.KindredLodges.org.uk.