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DwayneM

Registered User
I know the Masons are a charitable organization, especially in regard to children and public education. I am considering approaching my local lodge for assistance, so I wanted to ask the good men of this forum for comment.
Many of you are aware of the widespread catastrophic flooding that occurred in South Louisiana in August (and into September). Of the thousands of affected families, many of them have children with disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, etc. who have difficulty communicating. In many cases, iPads are used for communication. For many others, iPad- based programs are essential to their education, or even their emotional well-being. The floods struck so quickly and unexpectedly that many families lost this essential equipment.
I am working with an established 501 (c)3 group dedicated to helping families with special needs to help replace as many as the estimated 200 needed iPads we can.
My questions for you gentlemen are:

1) Would it be appropriate to present this to a local lodge and request their assistance?
2) I don't know anyone who I know is s lodge member. Would it be appropriate to approach the Tyler during a meeting and ask him to convey a request for the Master to contact me?
My intention is to present the request to the Lodge and leave the contact information for the organization, so the Lodge can discuss the matter and if they choose, they can contact the organization directly.
I welcome all comments. Thank you.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
When it comes to people with communications disabilities, the Scottish Rite specializes in that. We charter and support special classes for kids mostly with dyslexia but more generally with all manner of communications disabilities. Might be a better Masonic group to approach first.
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
You might want to check with the York Rite and Royal Arch Research Assistance. Tennessee has a separate program called Austin, Assistance, and Aid, but its scope is strictly for youngsters within the state of Tennessee. Perhaps your state has a similar program.

For the sake of clarification, while Freemasonry is essentially a charitable organization, it is not in the business of providing for those outside its ranks. If you ask a lodge or a Mason, the chances are better than not they'll give you the shirt off their back and reach for their wallet because that is the type of men we are. For instance, my lodge does an annual scholarship and gives to a couple of local programs to help those in need. However, Freemasonry isn't some kind of foundation where non-members can write a grant request and expect to get a check.
 

Ripcord22A

Site Benefactor
Sir i would recommend that you call ur local lodge and speak with the secretary and let him know what youd like to do. He will probably tell you to.come by on meeting night b4 the meeting and speak to the brothers. If u cant get ahold of them then just stop by on meeting night before the meeting and speak to the brothers.
 

DwayneM

Registered User
dfreybur- thank you. I know I can find the local blue lodge thanks to their sign at the edge of town, but I wouldn't k know how to reach the Scottish Rite.

Companion Joe- Thank you for the information and the clarification. I understand about the Lodge not being a charity as such. My intention is to advise the Lodge of the need, leave contact information, etc. with the secretary, and leave it to the men to donate or not, individually or as a group, as they see fit.

Ripcord- thank you for the advice. I'll contact the secretary and go from there.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
dfreybur- thank you. I know I can find the local blue lodge thanks to their sign at the edge of town, but I wouldn't k know how to reach the Scottish Rite.

Companion Joe- Thank you for the information and the clarification. I understand about the Lodge not being a charity as such. My intention is to advise the Lodge of the need, leave contact information, etc. with the secretary, and leave it to the men to donate or not, individually or as a group, as they see fit.

Ripcord- thank you for the advice. I'll contact the secretary and go from there.

Here, I would recommending approaching GL and asking them, then asking if it would be a good move to have an individual lodge sponsor or an individual Freemason advocate such a project and ask for advice or contacts.. but your local lodge could also work...
 

Ripcord22A

Site Benefactor
@Bloke in the states that im familiar with the individual lidges are responsible for their own charities...gl has a matching fund. So if @DwayneM got his lodge to donate enough for half of the ipads then they could apply to GL to match and get the rest of the funds. I got the two lodges here to sponsor my sons baseball team. I was looking for like 100$. #1 passed the hat and threw in the dinner take for around 3and some change they then challenged #19 to match em. They did and then applied to GL and i got close to 1300 for my sons team
 

Bloke

Premium Member
@Bloke in the states that im familiar with the individual lidges are responsible for their own charities...gl has a matching fund. So if @DwayneM got his lodge to donate enough for half of the ipads then they could apply to GL to match and get the rest of the funds. I got the two lodges here to sponsor my sons baseball team. I was looking for like 100$. #1 passed the hat and threw in the dinner take for around 3and some change they then challenged #19 to match em. They did and then applied to GL and i got close to 1300 for my sons team
Sounds like an individual lodge is the way to go there... can be the same here, but our GL has a fund which it administers itself, and can give withouth involving a lodge - it's where the big bucks of five and six figures are usually funded from.
 
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