FIVE thousand pounds has been donated to the charity Carer Support South Lakes after a fundraising campaign.

Members of Trinity Lodge in Kendal, part of the Cumberland and Westmorland Freemasons, organised the fundraising as a thank you to the charity which has been supporting the partner of one of its members who has terminal cancer.

The event, a Cheese and Wine evening at Kendal Masonic Lodge, raised more than £3,000. But the amount was increased to £5,000 thanks to support from the charity platform Big Give – which runs match funding campaigns for charities like Carer Support South Lakes.

All the money goes to Carer Support South Lakes' Give Carers A Break Appeal which helps provide respite breaks for unpaid Carers – many of whom struggle to get any free time away from their Caring responsibilities.

"It’s an amazing amount of money," says Nicola Edmondson, a Young Carer Support Worker at Carer Support South Lakes which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

"We are so grateful to the Cumberland and Westmorland Freemasons for their support and would like to say a huge thank you. The funds will make a big difference to the lives of so many unpaid Carers across South Cumbria."

The cheese and wine evening was organised by Scott Walmsley and his wife Mel. Scott is a member of the Freemason's Trinity Lodge 6730 in Kendal. They were helped by Joanne Jardine who was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year. The charity has been supporting her daughter as a young Carer. 

The event raised £3,045 and a further £1,995 was match funded by the Big Give work making an incredible total of £5,040.

Scott and Joanne have encouraged people in the South Lakes to help support the charity and have thanked all the local businesses who supported the evening with Raffle Prizes and other generous offers.