Philanthropy

Brothers Bill Soloway and Cameron Smith competed in the Transplant Games as part of Team Philadelphia. The Transplant Games are a biennial summer Olympic-style competition that raises organ and tissue donor awareness by showcasing the abilities of individuals who have undergone life-saving transplant surgeries.

Thanks to donors, youth from the Masonic Children’s Home and adult residents of the Bleiler Caring Cottage traveled by charter bus to Philadelphia to watch the Phillies beat the Miami Marlins on Sunday, June 30, at Citizens Bank Park. They were joined in a private suite by Masonic Villages and Grand Lodge leadership, as well as Masonic Children’s Home staff and board members.

The Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation (PMYF) needs your help! We’re in the midst of our 2025 Scholarship Application season, which runs until March 15, 2025, and we want your help in growing participation in this exciting opportunity for undergraduate students.

Michael Katzenmoyer was promoted to Executive Director for the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown upon the retirement of Brother Mike Rowe, effective Sept. 30, 2024.

On July 17, 128 widows and guests attended the annual luncheon at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown to recognize and honor Masonic widows residing on the campus and in the surrounding community. 

In 1988, Brother Bruce Edwards, P.M., Williamson Lodge No. 307, Womelsdorf, received a corneal transplant to restore sight in his right eye after a recurrent viral infection scarred his cornea.

The two years of isolation during the pandemic caused a lapse of mentorship, resulting in a leadership void within the Rainbow Girls assemblies in Pennsylvania. Supreme Inspector Helen Snedden and her team of adult leaders have developed a plan to address this by providing opportunities for the younger girls to get together to learn about Rainbow through games, fun activities, food and fellowship while engaging in service projects.

On April 6, Pennsylvania Job’s Daughters held their annual Miss Job’s Daughters Scholarship Pageant, with events being held at both the Patton Campus and the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown.

The Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation (PMYF) held a Power Five Leadership Weekend for nearly 80 youth and adult leaders from the five Masonic youth organizations it supports: DeMolay, Job’s Daughters, Knights of Pythagoras, Rainbow Girls and Ruth Mitchell Tucker Girls, at the Masonic Conference Center-Patton Campus.

It’s been a memorable year for Mason C. Barrick, Past Master Councilor of Elizabethtown Chapter, Order of DeMolay. The 18-year-old joined Prince Edwin – Spring Creek Lodge No. 486, Middletown, with his proud father conferring all three of his degrees; he’s been appointed Chaplain of his lodge; he’s served Pennsylvania DeMolay as State Junior Councilor; and he earned his Eagle Scout in the fall of 2023. At his Eagle Scout Court of Honor, he was presented with several special awards including the Masonic Eagle Scout Lapel Pin, and a large representation of his DeMolay family was in attendance.