The Freemasons of South Australia and Northern Territory have pledged to donate $600,000 over three years to Cancer Council SA’s new integrated council building.
The donation will fund the Wellbeing Wing in the new building on Greenhill Road in Adelaide, which will bring counselling, social work and peer support services together.
This will create an integrated approach to support for all South Australians impacted by cancer, with four distinct and comfortable rooms alongside two quiet areas.
The new integrated council building will include 120 rooms of supportive accommodation for regional and remote South Australians travelling to Adelaide for cancer treatment.
Cancer Council SA’s existing Greenhill Lodge is a service used by locals, including Mount Gambier’s Scott Collins who stayed there for eight weeks while he underwent chemotherapy for a brain tumour.
“I did not know what I would find at Cancer Council SA’s supported accommodation,” Mr Collins said.
“But not only did I find care, compassion, and support there, I found a home.”
Cancer Council chief executive Kerry Rowlands said support services were vital to ensure every South Australian had every chance to survive their diagnosis.
“A cancer diagnosis can be an overwhelming and daunting experience, particularly for regional South Australians who have to travel far away from the comforts of home to undergo lifesaving treatment,” Ms Rowlands said.
“We know that support services and counselling have a significant positive impact on the psychosocial wellbeing of guests, which is why the Wellbeing Wing in our new building will be so important.”
Cancer Council SA social worker Steven Lewis said the Wellbeing Wing would allow him to work closely with his colleagues across other support services to ensure they were making a real, holistic difference to the lives of South Australians facing a cancer diagnosis.
“We are so grateful to Masonic Charities for their incredible donation, which will ensure that we can provide South Australians impacted by cancer with the best available support to help them navigate their cancer experience,” he said.
Grand Master of the Freemasons David Booker said as an organisation they were incredibly proud to support this once-in-a-generation project for the South Australian community.
