Yelverton Play Park officially opened two new pieces of play equipment on Saturday 2nd May.

Yelverton Community Projects is registered Charity no. 1177230 and has been operating on a not for profit basis since 1998. They operate purely with the help of volunteers and are completely self funding.

They operate Yelvercare which is essentially a support group for elderly and frail persons and which primarily provides transport to hospital/doctors and other appointments. They also run a monthly cinema in the village hall which is self financing. Their biggest outlay is the local Playpark which has been run for about 25yrs without any support from the Local Authority. They have almost totally refurbished the area through their lottery and other fundraising efforts. The playpark is open for everyone to use irrespective of where they live. Indeed a special school in Plymouth regularly visit the site to use the multi-use games area (MUGA) which is ideal for wheelchair users. No charge is made for the use of the playpark. They wished to install a roundabout which will also accommodate a wheelchair for disabled children to use, the cost of which was in excess of £20,000. 

Worshipful Brother John Pritchard lives nearby and initiated the masonic enquiries. Initially the Pelican 7878 and Integrity 4098 Craft lodges each made small donations. An application was made to the Devon Mark Charity Association in 2025 and they donated £500. Right Worshipful Brother Nicholas Ball, the Provincial Grand Master of the Craft Province within Devonshire subsequently donated £1,500 from the WAKE Fund.

In July 2025 an application was made to the Mark Benevolent Fund, and the Province were deeply surprised and humbled when the MBF responded, stating that they would fund the entire cost of the roundabout to the tune of £22,961.

As a result, the donations made by the two Craft lodges, the WAKE Fund and the DMCA were put towards the replacement of the swings in the park.

Pictured are Worshipful Brother Christoper Elliott, the Assistant Provincial Grand Master, together with Worshipful Brothers John Betts and Garry Kitchen representing the DMCA. Joining them were Right Worshipful Brother Nicholas Ball, representing the WAKE Fund, Right Worshipful Brother Kevin Hicks representing the Trustees of the MBF and Worshipful Brother John Pritchard representing Pelican Lodge.