The North Carolina Mason

e Masonic Home for Chil- dren spent some time in August celebrating what they have achieved – and what is to come. e 147-year-old home has received a $40,000 grant from the State Employees Credit Union Foundation to help develop a comprehensive plan for the expan- sion of its Independent Living Program for youth ages 18-23 who are transitioning from foster care to adulthood. e announcement was made during a districtwide SECU Advi- sory Board meeting hosted at the MHCO campus, where SECU Foundation Board Chair Bob Brinson presented the ceremonial check to MHCO officials. "We are pleased to help the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford further their mission to assist children and young adults who need a stable, caring, and loving home," Brinson said. "MHCO has a long history and proven track record of providing residential care services to chil- dren and families. We hope the Foundation's grant will help them move forward with increasing their capacity and expanding ILP services to help address the needs of the foster care population." MHCO is one of the few facilities with a statewide reach to provide an independent living program for young adults in addition to offering residential care services and support programs for children from infancy to adulthood. SECU Foundation's grant will assist MHCO with assessing organizational strengths and growth areas, improving statewide marketing strategies and fundraising efforts for continued sustainability, training staff for program expansion, and obtaining a new ILP campus design. "e Masonic Home for Chil- dren at Oxford is honored and humbled to receive this generous and thoughtful gift from the SECU Foundation to address capacity issues," said MHCO Administrator Kevin Otis. "MHCO is North Carolina's first children's home, and more than 10,000 children have had an oppor- tunity to learn, grow, and succeed at tremendous levels thanks to the support of our gracious donors. is tradition continues today as SECU Foundation and MHCO join together to brighten our children's futures." September/October 2019 The North Carolina Mason Page 7 WhiteStone shares big news with the Cra Back in 1912, no one could have predicted the changes in healthcare and lifestyle that would increase the average lifespan, allowing all of us to live longer, healthier lives. All that mattered that year to those who created WhiteStone as the very first continuing care retire- ment community in North Carolina was this: the care of aging brothers and sisters in need. WhiteStone broke records even back then. Not only was it the first of its kind in North Carolina, it was the first Masonic fraternal home for the elderly in the United States. It continues to set records today, providing a community with an unparalleled level of care and support for its residents – two-thirds of which are brothers or sisters. But with time comes change. e demand for care is on the rise. e average Mason is now about 65 years old and demand statewide for senior housing is soaring, creating the need for a larger community that focuses on healthcare and independent living. "Guided by our fraternal values of friendship, morality and brotherly love, we strive daily to provide the best services possible to nurture seniors physically, spiritually and intellectually," Past Grand Master Gene Jernigan, chairman of the WhiteStone Board of Directors, told brothers gathered at the 2019 Annual Communication. Contributions from lodges, chap- ters, the NC Masonic Foundation and the Eastern Star Foundation and WhiteStone have provided nearly $1.5 million in charitable assistance to brothers and sisters this past year alone. e home has seen its share of change during the years, but relief for the fraternal family has always come first. Today's WhiteStone "is a success story, for us to celebrate as we move forward, together," he said. To maintain WhiteStone's excel- lence and to expand it to welcome more brothers and sisters, and offer the best healthcare around, the WhiteStone board has authorized an expansion and renovation of the popular Care and Wellness Center. is expansion creates a new assisted living unit with more memory-care space and construction of additional independent living units. Much of the cost will be covered by other funding sources, but Jernigan and Campaign Chair PGM Speed Hallman asked brothers at the Annual Communi- cation to support the campaign by raising $1 million to help fund the healthcare portion of the expansion. e board itself leads the pack in donations, already exceeding its own goal to contribute 10 percent of the $1 million goal. "It has been a generation since we asked our brethren to help with brick and mortar needs at WhiteStone," PGM Hallman said. "at's when we built the Care and Wellness Center with the generous support of thousands of Masons and Stars. It's time for our generation to step up." Expanding WhiteStone, he said, means "delivering more care and better care to those who came before us, to those who are counting on us." Lodges and brothers will be hearing more about the campaign in weeks to come. WhiteStone Ambassadors – brothers who have volunteered their support and hard work – will be out speaking about the need for the expansion and the campaign. For more information, contact Dee Blake, western region develop- ment director for the NC Masonic Foundation at dblake@mfnc.org or call 919-395-0959. Grant to aid in paving road to adulthood MHCO Administrator Kevin Otis, second from left, accepts the SECU Foundation check from Foundation Chair Bob Brinson, to his right, at a special SECO board meeting held at the home. READ THE MASON ANYTIME ONLINE AT WWW.GRANDLODGE-NC.ORG/NEWS-CALENDAR-OF-EVENTS

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