Eldercare Network receives grant from Masonic foundation

Fri, 05/01/2015 - 10:15am

Several Freemasons from around Lincoln County gathered at Bristol Lodge to award a $2,000 grant to the Eldercare Network of Lincoln County. It was one of 24 winning 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations throughout Maine that received $2,000 grants from the Masonic Charitable Foundation of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Maine.

Dr. Allan S. Teel, president the Eldercare Network, welcomed the donation and spoke of the challenges of providing quality health care to aging residents in the oldest county in the oldest state in the county. The Eldercare Network operates small senior residences in Boothbay, Damariscotta Edgecomb, Jefferson, Round Pond, Waldoboro and Wiscasset.

Teel said that the state pays only $3.50 an hour for senior care so donations and grants are important to providing essential residence and health care services to senior Mainers. He indicated that Eldercare was considering using this and another grant to retain a part-time grant writer to apply for bigger grants to help provide quality services to the growing clientèle at a time of rapidly increasing costs.

The Masonic Charitable Foundation of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Maine has announced that non-profits were nominated for the grants by local Freemasons interested in helping worthy causes in their local communities. The awards are based upon nearly 65,000 votes cast in February from some 25,000 interested citizens located throughout Maine and across the country. One award winner, Forgotten Felines of Maine in Gouldsboro, resulted from a well-executed write-in campaign.

The winners in each of the 24 Maine Masonic Districts include groups concerned with animal welfare, education, child and elder care, food assistance, health and hospice, nature preservation and military veteran support. The complete list may be found at www.masoniccharitablefoundation.org.

This is the first time that the Masonic Charitable Foundation has offered these public grants. Maine Freemasons also serve their communities by offering the popular “Bikes for Books,” youth activity, community betterment, and project graduation programs, and by supporting the Maine Masonic College, library and museum and many other activities.

Taken together, the Foundation’s charitable initiatives total nearly $400,000 per year. North American Freemasons donate some $3,000,000 per day, every day, to benefit society. Masons operate 22 Shriners burns and orthopedic hospitals; host dyslexic learning centers like those in Portland and Bangor; conduct heart, cancer, eye and schizophrenic research; operate Masonic homes and health care networks; award scholarships; and support enumerable other programs that improve the quality of life and society.

Questions about the Charitable Foundation and Freemasonry may be addressed to Mark Rustin, the Grand Secretary, at 207-843-1086, 855-843-1086 or grandsecretary@mainemason.org. For information on Lodges in your Masonic District, visit www.mainemason.org, and click on Maine Lodges, Lodge Locator, or Lodges by District.