April 6, 2004 - "MASONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE"
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MAFS
We are pleased to welcome the following new Masonic Angel Fund's:
#80 Tahattawan Lodge, Littleton, MA 2/23/2004
#81 Chicopee Lodge, Chicopee, MA 3/9/2004
#82 Guiding Lights Lodge, Auburn, MA 9/10/2003
Since the Universal Lodge carries license #0, this places us at 83 Masonic Angel
Funds in eight states.
NEW BENEVOLENCE BUILDER GRANTS!
We are pleased to report a new round of Benevolence Builder Grants have been
funded by The Lodge of St. Andrew. This grant program will run from April 1,
2004 through June 30, 2004 or until the funds are exhausted. As with the
fall-winter BBG program, Massachusetts Masonic Angel Funds may apply for a 50%
reimbursement of benevolences conferred during the grant period.
To apply for a Benevolence Builder Grant simply email the particulars to
info@masonicangelfund.org
BROCHURES AND COIN CANISTERS ARE IN!
If you are in need of coin canisters or MAF brochures, you will be pleased to
know that both have arrived here in quantity.
Please email with your orders for brochures and coin canisters. The brochures
are free but we ask that you reimburse the Foundation for the cost of postage.
Coin canisters are $1.17 plus shipping - this reflects our cost to purchase them
in bulk.
BENEVOLENCE STORIES
There are far too many recent benevolences afoot to list them all individually.
Here we list a few "bullet items" to illustrate the work our constituent MAF's
are doing:
Eyeglasses continue to be a staple of Masonic Angel Fund benevolence.
System-wide, eye exams and glasses remain our highest-volume benevolence.
Howard Lodge (Yarmouth, MA) received a wonderful thank-you from the local
Head Start program. They recently funded art lessons for a girl who needs to
improve her fine motor skills. Her caseworker reports "...she has taken to art
in such a way that she is really improving in leaps and bounds through these art
lessons."
Boston First Fund (Boston, MA) has provided numerous benevolences in
recent weeks including funds for necessary clothing and, most recently, an
entire summer of day-camp for three boys whose mother is critically ill with
cancer. Through the hard work of South Boston Head Start program caseworker
Carol Carroll, the entire cost of summer day-camp for all three boys is only
$450.
Universal Lodge (Orleans, MA) issued a check for $85 to cover lunches for
a ten-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl whose mother was in difficult
financial straits due to a rather acrimonious divorce. ULMAF also covered
afterschool tuition for a five-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy who are
staying with their elderly grandparents.
Star-Athol Lodge (Athol, MA) and Hope Lodge (Gardner, MA) continue to
provide clothing for many children in need, most especially winter coats.
Star-Athol and Hope MAF recently combined forces to purchase clothing in bulk
from a "Bob's Store" outlet in nearby Leominster.
Joseph Warren-Soley Lodge (Lincoln, MA) purchased bedding for two
youngsters who came to live with family after escaping a bad domestic situation.
Norumbega Fraternity MAF (Newton, MA) helped a family of fire victims
purchase new bedding for their first grade daughter, provided boots for a girl
whose previous pair had been stolen, and procured eyeglasses from a local
optician for a fourth grade boy.
Please share your benevolence stories so that we might share them with others in
the MAF community.
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE MASONIC ANGEL FOUNDATION, INC.
As of a recent by-law revision, any member in good standing of a Lodge that
holds a Masonic Angel Fund License may apply for membership in the Masonic Angel
Foundation, Inc. Annual dues are $25. Members are entitled to participate in
meetings of the corporation and to attend meetings of the Board of Directors.
If you would like to become a member, please send an email to info@masonicangelfund.org
- we will email you an application form in MS Word format. Generally, new
applications for membership will be acted upon at the next meeting of the
membership held after the application is received. New members must pass a
unanimous ballot of the Foundation members present.
SHARE YOUR GOOD NEWS!
Please use our list server (angelfund@listserver.blackwidowweb.net)
to share your benevolences and news with others in Masonic Angel Fund family.
You also may email your questions and stories to
info@masonicangelfund.org
Better still, if you hold a fund raiser or do some special project in your
community send us photographs and a "press release" for the web site.
Remember, this web site and these email broadcasts are everyone's forum to
share and learn about how we all operate our Masonic Angel Funds.
CURRENT LIST OF MASONIC ANGEL FUNDS
For a current list of licensed Masonic Angel Funds, go
here
We thank one and all for your outstanding support of the Masonic Angel
Foundation, Inc.
Regards to all,
Bob Fellows
Managing Director/Board Secretary
Masonic Angel Foundation, Inc.