In April 2021 at the young age of 13, Evie Dove was diagnosed with a brain tumour and over the next 11 months she and her family battled through brain surgeries, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and cutting-edge immunotherapy. 

Her spirit, humour and love of life never waned but despite moving mountains she could not be saved. Her legacy inspired her parents, together with close friends and relatives, to create The Evie Dove Foundation (TEDF) (charity) in her memory, which is run entirely by volunteers, enabling almost all the funds raised go to the “Heroes”.

 (A Hero is a person who has received sponsorship from the TEDF thus enabling them to carry out further studies and qualifications which are not funded by the NHS. Further details on the TEDF, their formation, fund raising events, sponsorship and Heroes can be found at their website – https://theeviedovefoundation.org )

 The Foundation has been established for the benefit of sick children and their families, focusing on the advancement of children’s health and the saving of children’s lives and pastoral care of families going through traumatic experiences. In particular, the Foundation will issue grants and awards to help advance those working in, or returning to, paediatric care in UK hospitals, through education, to perform more senior and influential roles in paediatric health care and by doing so help to contribute more to the care of sick children and their families in local hospitals. This also helps address a serious shortfall in the paediatric workforce in the UK. 

Having received the donation from the RW PGM, TEDF Foundation specifically wished to thank the Sandgate Freemasons for their contributions.
Peter West, secretary to the CEKFC therefore set up a celebration presentation at the Sandgate Masonic Centre on 15th March 2025.
The morning started with a breakfast roll, tea and coffees for those attending which was followed by three of the Foundation Trustees – Howard and Katie (Evie’s parents) and Simon Hagger (WBro Peter Hagger’s Son), who each in turn had the privilege of presenting to an audience of East Kent Sandgate Freemasons and Charity Stewards accompanied by some of their wives and partners at the Sandgate Masonic Hall.
The presentation was also joined by one of their amazing Heroes, Humphrey Nyambe from the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

Humphrey is in his second year of a master’s degree in paediatric allergies and was sponsored via the TEDF following the generous donations of the above-mentioned Sandgate Lodges, Chapter, CEKFC and the MCF.  

During their presentation, which was accompanied by a short video, Simon Hagger, Trustee of TEDF stated:

“It was our absolute pleasure to present to you about our Foundation and its purpose coupled with the progress made to date in enabling us to sponsor 134 Heroes so far. (Just over £360,000 has been raised to date since its formation in 2022 to help sponsor the 134 Heroes)        

One of the principles of our Foundation is that we always aim to connect an event or donation to a specific paediatric professional.

With the support of the East Kent Freemasons donations, we were enabled to fund Humphrey to develop his skills and help so many more children facing serious and life-threatening allergies.  Without that funding, Humphrey simply could not have afforded to further develop his skills to enable him to help so many more children in his role.  

These presentation events are always emotional for us as Trustees (and often for the audience) as we tell our story, talk about Evie’s inspiration and the “movement of kindness” the Foundation now represents. Evie lives on in us and the work of our many Heroes.”

Humphrey then talked through his day-to-day role, why he chose a career in paediatrics and the significant difference the funding has made to his own impact in caring for children on the hospital’s front line.

“To our delight and surprise, we were presented with a further £700 from the members of the Sandgate Masonic Hall and the Valley of Elham Lodge. This was totally unexpected and just incredible, and we were humbled to receive such generous ongoing support from these brilliant organisations.

We would like to personally thank Peter Hagger, Peter West, Steve Lay and all the members of the local Sandgate Freemasons who gave so generously and to everyone who took the time to attend our presentation.”

About the Cornwallis East Kent Freemaosns Charity

What is the Cornwallis Charity

We are a grant making charity. The primary focus of our giving is social welfare and need, including the prevention or relief of poverty. Grants are restricted to individuals, charities  and organisations with connections in or around Kent.

Our Mission

• To provide relief and support by the provision of grants to individuals in need, or other charities and organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty in East Kent.
• To make emergency grants to relieve poverty or distress arising from disasters occurring inside or outside East Kent which affect persons residing or working in East Kent.
• To support vulnerable people and the personal development of young people.
• To positively promote the community support and generosity provided by Freemasons in East Kent.
• To be visible, accessible, and responsive in our administrative procedures.

Our Values

We value:

• Honesty, Equality and Transparency.
• Perseverance in the face of adversity.
• Generosity particularly that of East Kent Freemasons, their families and friends.
• Commitment to Lifelong learning.

Find out more on https://cornwallisekfc.org.uk