What does it do?

What Freemasonry does… 
Simply, Freemasonry builds and advances the character of men to make them better.

Building on principals of moral integrity, Freemasons hold brotherly love as paramount to the benefit of mankind. Whether through charitable acts, or by direct involvement, Freemasonry has dedicated itself to the prosperity of mankind.

On the individual level, Freemasonry builds on moral philosophy, through allegorical symbols to impart rich and complex meanings about the divine. What that means is through Masonic education, individuals are given their own personal building blocks to contribute to the build of their own personal moral character, and then charged with applying that purpose in their day-to-day life.

It does not act to impart religion to its membership, instead it builds on the tenants and virtues taught by all religions, including a faith in the divine, the application of the Golden Rule, and the value of leading a moral virtuous life, all with the drive to put these ideas into personal practice. It promotes the active participation in the member’s individual faith tradition, charging them to build their spiritual character.

Throughout the mason’s life, the lessons of morality and ethics are revisited through the extensions of the various bodies of Freemasonry, building on the principals of Freemasonry. Seldom can a mason say they have learned all of the meanings taught to them through the degrees.

By serving to promote brotherly love masons are now involved in extended levels of charity and benevolence to meet the needs of those least able in society.

To serves as an example, Freemasons are involved in all of these charitable organizations, giving to the needs of others.

• Childhood language disorders
• Treatment for birth defects
• Scholarship and direct grants to children and grandchildren of Scottish Rite Masons as well as to members of DeMolay, Job’s Daughters, Rainbow for Girls, and other
• Masonic youth groups
• Research on diabetes
• A summer camp for underprivileged children
• Arteriosclerosis research
• Christmas Day Dinner for the Des Moines community
• Cancer research
• Training awards for religious leadership and those making religious work their career
• A museum and monument to George Washington
• Grants to students at in Schools of Government and Business
• Administration and International Affairs
• Dental care for handicapped children
• Scholarship assistance to nursing students
• Geriatric research
• Child development for good citizenship and sound character for boys and girls
• Outpatient services for cancer treatment
• Low cost education loans
• Eye surgery and prescription glasses
• Treatment for cancer patients and cancer research support
• Masonic Hospital Visitation Program for V.A. Hospital volunteers
• Research in heart disease, cancer, aging, hypertension, and blood substitutes
• Meeting and performance facilities at the International Peace Garden
• A clearinghouse on Masonic information
• Education of youth about drugs and alcohol
• Ohio Special Olympics
• A non-denominational chapel for mediation and religious services at the International Peace Garden
• Research into the causes and treatment of schizophrenia and related disorders
• Research into auditory perception disorders in children
• A Georgia children’s medical Center
• A museum and library focusing on our American heritage as well as Freemasonry’s role in the history of our country
• The first public library in the District of Columbia
• Scholarships and fellowships for Ph.D. candidates in Public School Administration
• Support for students seeking degrees in fields associated with service to country and humanity Orthopedic services to children through a network of 22 hospitals and treatment for burns victims at four burns centers
• Support for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
• A provider of new shoes for needy Tennessee and Alabama children
• An orthopedic, neuralgic, and child development hospital in Texas
• Operates a clinic for dyslexic and aphasia disorders in children
• Provides needy homeless children in the school district with clothing and toiletries

The following is a brief listing of these American Masonic Charities mentioned above:

Abbott Scottish Rite Scholarship Program
Provides direct grants to children and grandchildren of Scottish Rite masons, as well as members of DeMolay, Job’s Daughters, Rainbow Girls, and other Masonic youth groups.

Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, N.M.J.
P.O. Box 519
33 Marrett Road
Lexington, Massachusetts 02173
(617) 862-4410

Amaranth Diabetes Foundation
(Supports research on diabetes)
The Supreme Council, Order of the Amaranth
Mrs. Ethel B. Fry, Supreme Secretary
2303 Murdoch Avenue
Parkersburg, West Virginia 26101
(304) 485-0423 or (304) 428-1565

Camp Chicota
A summer camp for underprivileged children
Grand Lodge of Louisiana, Prince Hall Affiliation
1335-37 North Boulevard
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821
(504) 387-0996

Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation
Supports arteriosclerosis research
Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation
Marion K. Crum, Executive Secretary
Route 4, Box 301
Nashville, Indiana 47448
(812) 988-8655

Des Moines Masonic Christmas Day Dinner
Provides Christmas Day Dinner for the community
Masonic Christmas Day Dinner
Masonic Temple
1011 Locus Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
(515) 244-6011

Eastern Star Cancer Research Project
Supports cancer research
General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star
1618 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-2578
(202) 667-4737

Eastern Star Training Awards for Religious Leadership
Supports those who are making religious work their career
General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star
1618 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-2578
(202) 667-4737

General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star
Supports the Peace Chapel at the International Peace Garden which
provides a non-denominational chapel for meditation and religious
services
General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star
1618 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-2578
(202) 667-4737

George Washington Masonic National Memorial
A museum and monument to our first President (and a Mason)
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
101 Calahan Drive
Alexandria, Virginia 22301
(703) 683-2007

George Washington University Grants
Provides grants to students in the Schools of Government and
Business Administration and International Affairs and matching
grants for graduate students
Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, Southern Jurisdiction
1733 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-3199
1-800-SR MASON

Grotto Dentistry for the Handicapped Program
Provides dental care to handicapped children
Supreme Council, M.O.V.P.E.R.
34 N. Fourth Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 463-9193

Illinois Scottish Rite Nursing Scholarships
Provides scholarship assistance to nursing students throughout
the State of Illinois
Illinois Scottish Rite Fund
Illinois Council of Deliberation
915 N. Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
(312) 787-7605

Indiana Masonic Home Foundation
An endowment which supports the Indiana Masonic Home, a retirement
and convalescence center. Located on 360 acres, is home for over
400 residents.
P. O. Box 44210
525 North Illinois Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46224-0210
(800) 277-4643

Indianapolis Scottish Rite Foundation
Supports geriatric research at the University of Indiana Medical School
Indianapolis Scottish Rite Bodies
650 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-1294
(317) 635-2301

International Order of Job’s Daughters
A organization for girls between the ages of eleven and twenty who are relatives of Master Masons
Supreme Guardian Council, International Order of Job’s Daughters
233 West 6th Street
Papillion, Nebraska 68046
(402) 592-7987\

International Order of Rainbow for Girls
A organization for girls between the ages of eleven and eighteen who are daughters of Masonic or Eastern Star families or friends of such girls
International Order of Rainbow for Girls
P.O. Box 788
McAlester, Oklahoma 74502
(918) 423-1328

Kansas Masonic Oncology Center
Provides out-patient services for cancer treatment
Kansas Masonic Foundation
320 West 8th Street
P.O. Box 1217
Topeka, Kansas 66601-1217
(913) 357-7646

Knights Templar Educational Foundation
Provides students with low-cost education loans
5097 Elston Ave, Suite 101
Chicago, Illinois 60630-2460
(312) 427-5670

Knights Templar Eye Foundation
Supports eye surgery and prescription glasses
P.O. Box 579
Springfield, Illinois 62705-0579
(217) 523-3838

Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center
Provides treatment for cancer patients and supports research
Masonic Cancer Center Fund, Inc.
1700 West Highway 36, Suite 120
Roseville, Minnesota 55113
(612)639-8433

Masonic Hospital Visitation Program
Provides Masonic volunteers to work with patients at Veterans
Administration and military hospitals
Masonic Services Association of the United States
8120 Fenton Street
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
(301) 588-4010

Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Utica, New York
Supports research in heart disease, cancer, aging, hypertension,
and blood substitutes
2150 Bleeker Street
Utica, New York 13501-1787
(315) 735-2217

Masonic Memorial Auditorium, International Peace Garden
Provides meeting and performance facilities for visitors
Grand Lodge of North Dakota
201 14th Avenue North
Fargo, North Dakota 58102
(701) 235-8321

Masonic Services Association of the United States
Serves as a clearing house for Masonic information

National Masonic Foundation for the Prevention of
Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Children
Supports education for youth about drugs and alcohol
1629 K Street N.W., Suite 606
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 331-1933

Ohio Special Olympics
The Masonic Grand Lodge of Ohio sponsors every Ohio Special Olympian at these games
Grand Lodge of Ohio
P.O. Box 629
Worthington, Ohio 43085-0629
(614) 885-5318

Order of DeMolay
A fraternal organization for boys between the ages of thirteen and
twenty-one; its purpose is the encouragement and development of good
citizenship and sound character
International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay
10200 N. Executive Hills Boulevard
P.O. Box 901342
Kansas City, Missouri 64190-1342
(816) 891-8333

Research In Schizophrenia
Supports research into the causes and treatment of schizophrenia and related disorders
Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, N.M.J.
P.O. Box 519
33 Marrett Road
Lexington, Massachusetts 02173
(617) 862-4410

Royal Arch Research Assistance Program
Supports research into auditory perception disorders in children
General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons International
111 South 4th Street
Danville, Kentucky 40423-0489
(606) 236-0757

Scottish Rite Children’s Medical Center in Georgia
Provides generalized and specialized services to children
Scottish Rites Children’s Medical Center
1001 Johnson Ferry Road, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30363
(404) 256-5252

Scottish Rite Museum of Our National Heritage
A museum and library focusing on our American heritage as well as
Freemasonry’s role in the history of our country
Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, N.M.J.
P.O. Box 519
33 Marrett Road
Lexington, Massachusetts 02173
(617) 862-4410

Scottish Rite Supreme Council Library
The first public library in the District of Columbia which today
serves the general public as well as international Masonic scholars
Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, Southern Jurisdiction
1733 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-3199
1-800-SR MASON

Shepherd Scholarship
Supports students seeking degrees in fields associated with service
to country and humanity

Shriners Hospitals for Children and Shriners Burn Institutes
Provides orthopedic services to children through a network of 22
hospitals and treatment for burns victims at three burns centers,
also provides specialized medical services for spinal cord injuries,
and cleft palates.

Direct phone to Shriners Hospitals for Children (USA) 800-237-5055
Shriner Headquarters
2900 Rocky Point Drive
Tampa, Florida 33607
[USA - (800) 282-9161 ] [Canada - (800) 361-7256] [All other areas
call collect - (813) 281-0300]

Tall Cedar Foundation
Supports the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Supreme Forest, Tall Cedars of Lebanon
2609 N. Front Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110
(717) 232-5991

Tennessee and Alabama Scottish Rite Shoe Program
Provides new shoes for need Tennessee and Alabama children
Chattanooga Scottish Rite Bodies
510 Uptain Building
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37411-4031
(615) 855-0175

Birmingham Scottish Rite Bodies
400 Valley Avenue
Birmingham, Alabama 35209-3899
(205) 942-2687

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
Provides orthopedic, neuralgic, and child development services to children in Texas
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
2222 Welborn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219-9982
(214) 521-3168

Masons Assisting Children (MAC)
Provides needy homeless children in the school district with clothing and toiletries
Masons Assisting Children
2200 West Mesquite
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106

Scottish Rite Foundation
Operates a clinic for dyslexic and aphasia disorders in children
Scottish Rite Foundation
2200 West Mesquite
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106