The Leader
MARCH 2020: Public Schools Month

Charity comes in many shapes and sizes—something California lodges demonstrate each year during Public Schools Month. This year, as the fraternity celebrates the historic 100th anniversary of Charles Adams’s 1920 Public Schools Week proclamation, it’s a lesson worth remembering. Because whether yours is a lodge with a hefty financial endowment or one that just struggles to keep the lights on, there’s always an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of local schoolkids.

As lodges look for ways to pitch into the centennial spirit, no undertaking is too small—a fact exemplified by the members of Anaheim Lodge No. 207, where they’ve made every penny count.

The Multiplying Effect

Although they’re the oldest lodge in Orange County, Anaheim No. 207 still deals with the same essential concerns as upstart lodges do. “How do we engage membership? How do we keep dues low, but still make an impact in our community?” Luciano Leon, lodge master, asks rhetorically. “We’re still figuring that out.” It’s easy to get stalled on ambitious projects when you’re wrapped up with covering the basics.

For Leon and the members of Anaheim No. 207, the answer to cracking that fundraising puzzle was simply to push forward. “We knew that if we didn’t start, we never would get anywhere,” Leon says. So the lodge started—slowly, at first. Last in 2018, they hosted a pancake breakfast to raise funds for public education. Although the event didn’t net much money—a few hundred dollars in profit—it served to break the seal. Now the lodge is preparing for its second event, a chili cook-off scheduled for April, which Leon and organizers are excited to put lessons learned planning their initial event into practice. He’s also reaching out to neighboring lodges in an attempt to cohost the event and maximize turnout. “The more lodges we can work with, the better the outcome,” Leon says. “We know our fundraising goals aren’t big, but the difference between raising $1,000 and zero is a thousand opportunities for a child in need."

The key to getting the most out of their charitable efforts, Leon says, is working with the California Masonic Foundation. By partnering with the national nonprofit Raising A Reader, money donated through the Foundation—raised through Anaheim No. 207 and others across the state—brings the fundraising prowess of the entire fraternity to bear on a targeted solution to a critical educational issue. “The Foundation has the resources to stretch our $1,000 farther than we can on our own,” Luciano says. “Eventually, we’d like to build up a sustainable scholarship program, but for now, we’re focusing on ways to maximize our impact any way we can.”

With enough lodges like Anaheim No. 207 making their own drop in the bucket, the Foundation is able to create a meaningful difference in the lives of some of the neediest classrooms in the state—and impact the lives of schoolkids and their families. To donate, visit the California Masonic Foundation website.