Categories Of Masonic Philanthropy

1. Public Hospitals, Clinics, Centers, And Medical Care

Medical and health services provided to the public comprise the largest single category of American Masonic philanthropy. These operations typically involve extensive physical plants and large capital investments. Leading the list are Shriners Hospitals for Children which have a total budget of $425 million in 1997. The operating budget amounts to $359 million and includes nearly $21 million for research. In addition to the $359 million, another $66 million is being spent on new construction and renovation of hospital facilities. The Masonic philanthropy behind these hospitals is sublime in its simplicity: if a patient can be helped, the services are provided, and cost is never a consideration. Other Masonic philanthropies in this category include the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (pictured below); the Scottish Rite Children's Medical Center in Georgia; nearly 125 Scottish Rite facilities for childhood speech, language, and learning disorders; the Knights Templar Eye Foundation; the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota; and the Grotto Dentistry for the Handicapped Program.

2. Masonic Homes And Orphanages

This is the oldest category of organized Masonic philanthropy. From its earliest beginnings, Freemasonry has admonished its members to provide support for widows and orphans, especially those of former Masons. This care was initially provided by local lodges, but it eventually came under the oversight of Grand Lodges as they began providing for their needy with centralized facilities. The first Masonic home in the United States was established by Kentucky Masons in 1866, the Masonic Widows and Orphans Home and Infirmary in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1927, the residents moved to a new facility in Masonic Home, Kentucky. Today 39 state Grand Lodges maintain homes, and 11 still have orphanages, though the need for the latter has diminished. Most Grand Lodges without homes care for their needy through various endowments that support them in outside facilities. The services provided in this category are generally available to Masons and their relatives, though some Masonic orphanages allow lodges to sponsor orphans unrelated to a Mason.

3. Medical Research

Medical research may not be as photogenic as large hospitals and smiling patients, but its results are every bit as important. Much of Masonic charity is quietly devoted to solving health problems, some of which are treated in the institutions in category one, "Public Hospitals, Clinics, Centers, and Medical Care." In fact, many of the hospitals and clinics mentioned maintain active research programs as a supplement to their other services. Masonic support for medical research ranges from foundations providing research funding to completely equipped laboratories performing research. This category of medical research includes, in addition to several of the activities from category one, the Scottish Rite's research in schizophrenia, the Kansas Masonic Oncology Center, the Royal Arch Research Assistance Program (auditory research), the Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation (arteriosclerosis research), the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory at Utica, New York (biomedical research), and the Indianapolis Scottish Rite Foundation (geriatric research at the University of Indiana Medical School).

4. Community Support

This is perhaps the most difficult category to tabulate. Masonic lodges are not expected to sit passively in their communities but to contribute actively. There is no way to list completely Masonic civic involvement, which could include a float in a parade, an ad in a program, or a team sponsored in the local youth league.

Even more difficult to calculate would be the increased community activity by individual Masons who have been inspired to greater service by the teachings of their Craft. However, it is possible to enumerate some significant contributions to individual communities and to other national charities. National charities given special support by Masonic organizations include the Muscular Dystrophy Association, supported by the Tall Cedars of Lebanon; the American Diabetes Association, supported by the Amaranth Diabetes Foundation; and the American Cancer Society, supported by the Eastern Star Cancer Research Project.

Exceptional local Masonic community activities include the annual Des Moines Masonic Christmas Day Dinner for anyone in the community, the Tennessee and Alabama Scottish Rite Shoe Programs for thousands of children who otherwise would attend school without proper shoes, the Ohio Special Olympics Summer Games where every Special Olympian is supported by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, the Missouri and Kansas "Masonic Mile of Food" for the needy, and the Special Olympian division of the Jamestown, New York, soap box derby.

5. Scholarships And Youth

American Freemasonry has always had a particular interest in education, and it is thus no surprise to find wide support given to students, usually in the form of scholarships. Masonic scholarships range from funds offered by thousands of Lodges to local students, to large programs run on a national basis.

Noteworthy philanthropies in this category include the Scottish Rite Abbott Scholarships for undergraduate college students to pursue their particular fields of study. Shepherd Scholarships to support students in the areas of service to country and humanity, George Washington University grants for government, business, or international affairs, and graduate fellowships for doctorates in education administration. Also, there are the Eastern Star Training Awards for Religious Leadership, the Illinois Scottish Rite Nursing Scholarships, and the Knights Templar Educational Foundation, providing low-cost education loans.

Further evidence of Masons' interest in American youth is seen in their myriad of other activities supporting American youth. These include the National Masonic Foundation for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Children and support by the entire Family of Masonry for the International Order of DeMolay, the International Order of Job's Daughters, and the International Order of Rainbow for Girls.

6. Museums And Public Buildings

In many communities, Masonic buildings are the focus of civic activity. Some Masonic structures are so significant and provide such valuable public services, however, that they have become local landmarks and tourist attractions. In this category can be found the Scottish Rite Supreme Council Museum and Library in Washington, D.C., the first public library in the Federal District; The George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia; the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum of Our National Heritage in Lexington, Massachusetts; and the Masonic Memorial Auditorium and the Eastern Star's Peace Chapel at the International Peace Garden on the Manitoba-North Dakota Border. While not included in the 1995 figures, it is noteworthy that in 1986 Masons contributed $2,000,000 towards the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. Similarly, now, in 1997, Masons are working to help restore Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, the Memorial Arch dedicated to George Washington at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and the Washington Monument in our nation's capital.

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