|
Masonic Angel Fund program
adopted
By Paula Vogler/
Correspondent
Friday, May 27, 2005
The Paul Revere
Masonic Lodge of Brockton is bringing the Angel Fund
across town borders to help needy Easton students pay
for clothing and other necessities.
Carl Johannesen, a member of the
lodge, recently gave the School Committee details about
the fund.
Through principals, nurses and
teachers, children in grades K-6 who need help with
items such as eyeglasses, seasonal items or after school
and summer programs are identified. The funds provides
$100 for each request.
"All the things a child may need in
the course of a school year but cannot afford (can be
provided)," Johannesen said.
Approval or disapproval is given
over the phone and a check is delivered usually on the
same day the request is made according to Johannesen.
No personal or family information is
given to the lodge nor is there any contact with the
child being helped. Johannesen said the age, gender and
grade of the child as well as the specific need that is
to be filled and a receipt for services is all that is
requested.
"This is something we would
gratefully like to participate in," School
Superintendent William Simmons said. "The anonymity is
the key part for us."
"It is something so straight forward
and easy to access," School Committee member Caroline
O'Neill said.
School nurses already had a
preliminary list of children who could benefit from the
fund and Johannesen said he expects to receive phone
calls in the near future.
The Angel Fund began with a lodge on
Cape Cod in 1998. Since then it has been incorporated
and is sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
Many lodges in the state and on the East Coast operate
Angel Funds.
"There are very strict controls and
oversights (with the Angel Fund); lodges have to have
specific controls," Johannesen said.
Easton's Paul Dean Lodge members
voted in October 2004 to merge with the Paul Revere
Lodge in Brockton. The 150 members from the Easton lodge
brought membership in Brockton close to 400.
Proceeds from the sale of Easton's
lodge building on Williams Street will form a large part
of the Angel Fund's money. Once earmarked for the fund,
the money cannot be spent for any other purpose than
Angel Fund expenditures.
In
addition to the Angel Fund, Johannesen
said the Masons also support two
children's hospitals - the Shriner's
Hospital for Children in Springfield and
Shriner's Pediatric Burn Hospital in
Boston. Both provide free care to
children up to the age of 18 who qualify
through an admissions process.
Paula Vogler can be
reached at 508-634-7563 or writedesk84@comcast.net |
|
|
