Home's Grown Kids - Fall 2019

home’s grown

The Difference You’re Making in Children’s Lives!

kids FALL 2019

Dreaming Big While Having a “Ball” Arthur Quaye believes in paying it forward.

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

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Arthur, now age 24, is a 2014 Masonic Children’s Home alumnus and 2018 Bloomsburg University graduate. He currently works as an inside sales representative for the Philadelphia Union soccer team in Chester, Pennsylvania.

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In August, he invited children’s home youth to attend a home soccer game against the Houston Dynamo at Talen Stadium, where they mingled with residents from the Masonic Villages at Elizabethtown and Lafayette Hill and enjoyed delicious food and drinks on the pre-game party deck.

“I reached out to Joe Murphy (Masonic Villages’ CEO) about doing this event,” Arthur said. “He was really receptive to the idea and helped me set it up with the help of Bill Kingsbury (CEO-Elect). It was my way of giving back. I thought the kids could use some advice and encouragement.

Like, ‘this kid graduated from the same place as you and he’s out chasing his dreams. You can do that, too.’”

In 2009, Arthur was living with his father in Philadelphia when he moved to the Masonic Children’s Home based on a teacher’s recommendation. While at the children’s home, he was a student athlete, excelling in track and field, football and basketball.

While moving from the big city to Elizabethtown was an adjustment, his interest in sports made things easier. “I made a lot of my closest friends through sports,” he said. “Some of my best friends to this day are from Elizabethtown.”

Arthur went on to attend Bloomsburg University (of Pennsylvania), where he played football and track and field, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations (PR) and a minor in political science.

weekends and sometimes during the week. There are two home matches a month, from March through October, and 18 home games per season.

“On match day, I get to the stadium early, meet up with groups, do seat visits and work the ticket headquarters, as well as different sales tables around the stadium,” he said. “It’s very busy.”

After college, Arthur completed an internship with a PR firm in Philadelphia and also with the Penn FC soccer club (PFC, formerly known as the Harrisburg City Islanders) to gain additional sports industry experience.

“I would go to a bunch of events all around Lancaster County, trying to grow the brand of PFC, because it was their inaugural year,” he said. “That was my first experience with professional sports. I stayed five months, and once I saw the job posting at the Philadelphia Union, I applied for it.”

Arthur has been working with the Philadelphia Union since March 2019. He and several other sales representatives sell various types of tickets (group tickets, season tickets, etc.), while at the same time trying to drum up new business.

The job aligns with Arthur’s career goals because he loves sports and always wanted to work in a high-paced, dynamic industry.

“Building a background in sales is important because I want to work in business, and generating revenue is a good background,” Arthur said.

“My dream job would be to work for a sports management agency (as a marketing representative or in sponsorship sales).” Down the road, he hopes to earn his master’s degree in sports business or law.

For now, Arthur is enjoying his time spreading the word about the game of soccer in Philadelphia.

“We haven’t been around as long as the other Philadelphia sports teams (2010), so we’re still growing our fan base,” he said. “A lot of what we do is reaching out to people through cold calls and events, getting people to learn about Union soccer.”

Arthur works five days a week and attends every home match on

He said he also learned the value of hard work, persistence, determination and enthusiasm.

“If you’re putting your all into it, you’re getting your all out of it. You’re not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.”

Your gifts are helping kids, like Arthur, grow up to find successful futures that allow them to give back - thank you!

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When it came time to choose a career, Arthur knew he wanted to do something with sports.

Bloomsburg didn’t have a sports management program, so he thought it was best to pursue PR.

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

Arthur with Mark Kurzenknabe and Virginia Migrala, assistant director and director of the children's home

Arthur credits the children’s home with instilling in him a solid work ethic. “Balancing my time and putting enough time into academics and studies was heavily emphasized there,” he said. “Also, growing up with people from different backgrounds helped me to communicate with different types of people and personalities, which definitely prepared me for what I’m doing now.”

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Making the Impossible, Possible seem so far out of her reach.

Melinda said the structured nature of the children’s home became very helpful to her, allowing her to set attainable goals for herself. While attending high school, Melinda said she had great teachers. Through her experience, she found her passion in education and decided she wanted to attend college for teaching so she could help other children reach their goals, too.

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“Sometimes you’re called to things in your life, and I realized that’s something I would be good at,” Melinda said.

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Melinda Tkacs moved around a lot as a child. She first lived with her father. He then left her with her aunt and uncle in California, and soon after, she went to live with her grandmother. When Melinda entered into high school, she didn’t think many educational opportunities were possible for her.

College after graduation seemed at an even larger distance.

As she entered tenth grade, Melinda’s father found the Masonic Children’s Home, where he sent Melinda, as he no longer wanted to care for her.

There, Melinda found opportunities and a family she never thought she would have. It didn’t come easy at first, because the home was more structured than where she lived

before, and she was 16 years old.

“It was definitely difficult coming that old to another setting that was completely different than what I had ever experienced,” Melinda said.

Melinda lived with seven other girls and two house parents. After beginning school at Elizabethtown Area High School, she found that many of the girls she lived with at the children’s home were in the same classes at school. Because of this, she became good friends with them.

Melinda did well in school and started becoming involved in activities like sports and work. For the first time in her life, educational opportunities like college did not

Education, sports and work were not the only activities Melinda participated in. She also had a lot of fun with friends while she lived at the children’s home. They went to the beach, swam in the indoor pool and even went on a trip to Disney World.

In addition to the opportunities she received, Melinda said the children’s home helped give her a resiliency that might have been lost had she not gone to live there.

“They provide counseling, they provide structure and they provide support systems so that you can be resilient. You can move forward in your life and know that whatever happened to you is not the end all be all, that you could do something with your life and you are worthy of having opportunities,” she said.

After graduating high school, Melinda achieved her goal of attending college for education, thanks to financial support from donors. Then, she continued her education further to attain her master’s degree and master’s degree plus 30 (30 credits above a master’s degree) in the field.

Now, Melinda is in her 15th year of teaching and teaches seventh grade social studies at Penn Wood Middle School in Darby, Pennsylvania. Her future goals consist of continuing her teaching and involvement in her teacher’s

union, Pennsylvania State Education Association.

“I want to keep teaching and helping students reach their full potential like the children’s home has helped me to do,” Melinda said. “I’m completely grateful to them for all my opportunities, because they helped shape me partially into who I am today. Without them, I would not be as successful as I am today. They definitely provided my foundation.”

Turn Your Required Minimum Distribution into a Qualified Charitable Deduction • Haven’t taken all of your required minimum distribution (RMD) this year?

• Don’t need all or part of your RMD to live on?

• Hate to pay taxes?

• Enjoy helping others?

THEN CONSIDER THIS: Give all or part of your RMD to the Masonic Children’s Home, and you will make a difference for a child in need.

Call the Masonic Charities Office of Gift Planning at 1-800-599-6454 or complete and send the enclosed form to find out how you can: • Give part or all of your RMD to the Masonic Children’s Home • Avoid taxes on your RMD • Put a smile on your face!

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• Own an IRA?

ACT NOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD!

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

ARE YOU 70½ or older and:

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Finding a Sense of Self Rina is known among her friend group as “the jokester.”

She loves to make people laugh and encourage them to just be in the moment. However, she hasn’t always been so generous with her humor or open to new friendships.

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

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“When I first came to the children’s home, I wasn’t so great with people,” Rina recalls.

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Her hesitation came from her home life, where she had to take on more responsibility than other children her age. After her mother left when she was just 11 years old, Rina spent the majority of her time caring for her younger brother, who was 7 years old at the time, often while their father was working.

“My dad was always working double shifts to pay the bills,” Rina said.

For a man who knew his daughter deserved more than what he could give her, Rina’s father was searching for answers to his family's struggles. When a friend told him about the children’s home, it became clear that it was the best place for Rina to learn, grow and thrive, all while taking on the appropriate amount of responsibility for her age.

“When my dad and I found out what the children’s home would do for me, including paying for my college, we both cried,” Rina said.

Today, four years after coming to the children’s home, Rina has just started her sophomore year of high school.

She has a long list of extra-curricular activities, including karate, track and field (where she throws discus, shot put and, starting this upcoming season, javelin) and being a member of her high school’s Mini-THON program, which raises money to aid families affected by pediatric cancer.

“The children’s home taught me to be myself,” Rina says.

“If you just focus, you can reach any of your goals.”

When she isn't being carted all around town by her house parents, Rina enjoys staying in with a favorite book – sometimes it’s historical fiction, other times it’s a fiction book with a little romance. She’s developed a love for reading, another thing she was sure she’d never experience.

“All the tutors here help me study and be interested in things,” Rina said. “Growing up in Philly, I never got that help, and my dad was always so busy trying to support us.”

Soon, Rina will meet with the children’s home’s educational coordinator to discuss options for postgraduation education. She thinks she has her mind set on becoming a registered nurse, but she’s also considering a career as a midwife, where she’d work with expecting mothers during labor and delivery.

At the children’s home, Rina has experienced many “firsts” - first true friendships, first time on a roller coaster, and, most importantly, the first time she’s felt like she has the world in her hands.

“My hope is that other kids get the same opportunities here as I did,” she said. “I appreciate all the people who give money to the children’s home.

You saved my life. You made me who I am.”

Rina pictured with cottage housemate and friend, Noelia.

Your generous support is helping kids, like Rina, dream bigger than ever before! Thank you!

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

Rina would love to attend Penn State University, but she has a few other choices, too. “I never thought college would be a part of my life, so I’m excited,” Rina said.

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“I really love babies and kids. They’re just so cute,” Rina says.

“I think it might come from helping to raise my little brother.”

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Three Ways to Support Our Kids this Holiday

Make the Season Brighter for Our Kids!

GIVING CATALOG

Purchase items to help our kids experience joy, find lifelong interests and build successful futures. Visit MCHGivingCatalog.org to view and purchase items. Items include books, educational opportunities, clothing, crafts and more. Consider purchasing an item as your gift to a loved one this season!

Choose from 24 items!

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HOME’S GROWN KIDS

FALL 2019

CORNERSTONE CIRCLE FOR MONTHLY GIVING

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2.

Authorize a specified amount of money to be electronically transferred directly from your checking account or credit card to the children's home monthly. This is the easiest form of giving - plus, there are no worries of checks getting lost, stolen or destroyed, and you will receive a year-end statement of monthly giving for easy tax preparation.

You can cancel your authorization at any time. To join, call 1-800-599-6454 or visit MasonicChildrensHome.org/donate-now.

AMAZONSMILE

When you shop at AmazonSmile for your holiday gifts, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the Masonic Children’s Home. Bookmark this link, so all your eligible purchases will benefit the children’s home every time you shop: smile.amazon.com/ch/23-0846955.

Thank You ALL GIFTS GIVEN MAY 1 - SEPT. 30, 2019 SCHOLAR DONORS

AUTHOR DONORS

Boyd Watterson Asset Management

Evelyn Hunter-Longdon

Mason Crawford

MENTOR DONORS William and Joan Moyer

Ann Edinger

ASSOCIATE DONORS

Bill and Carla Fishel

Trudy Prath

Lodge No. 106

NEW CENTENNIAL SOCIETY MEMBERS

HONOREE

DONOR

George R. and Elaine L. McLaughlin

Benjamin Anderson

Carolyn Painter

John H. Griesemer, Sr.

Roland and Jill Morris

Charles Holloway

Houseman Lodge No. 211

John and Jean Lewis 50th Anniversary

Albert Rowland

Boyd Watterson Asset Management

Greg Neuhauser

John and Barbara Kolchin

Adeline Rembish

John and Barbara Kolchin

Christenson Investment Partners

David Simington 100th Birthday

Steven and Nancy Styer

Mildred Worstell

Theodore Hervol

Sandra Zupanovich

Robert Zupanovich

Logan Lodge No. 490 Meyersdale Lodge No. 554 Joseph and Barbara Murphy

National Investment Services, Inc. WISH LIST Richard Vaux-Ivanhoe Lodge No. 384 Rooster Woodshop John Savickas Jay and Nancy Smith

CONTRIBUTORS

Wayne and Nancylee Garafola

HONORARIUM GIFTS

Tim and Marcia Spangler

Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania, Order of Eastern Star, Inc.

Janet Townsend

Evelyn Hunter-Longdon

Arthur and Dorothy Wert

Logan Lodge No. 490

Jeffrey and Sharon Lee Wonderling

Ronald and Judy McKnight

MEMORIAL

DONOR

National Investment Services, Inc.

Jean Carol Albright

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Esther Arons

John and Barbara Kolchin

Rooster Woodshop

Russell C. Ashby

Tracy and Sandra Miller

Fred and Mary Jane Sample

Anne R. Berlin

Cheston Berlin

Grace Bertolet

Roy Bertolet

Jane H. Bird

Eileen Elliott

Tom and Gretchen Endres

Daniel B. Breneman

Patricia Breneman

John Brenner

James and Ruth Woof

Robert Broggi

Rose Ann Broggi

Vida H. Burchfield

John and Carol Bream

Lois Spiegel Case

Deanne Molinari

Clinton Spiegel

Gaylon Cathcart

Michael and Barbara Cathcart

Marcia L. Zinkel

MEMORIAL GIFTS

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Christenson Investment Partners

David and Jean Stettler

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

Stuart and Barbara Brown

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Thank You MEMORIAL GIFTS

MEMORIAL

DONOR

Linda Cherris

Ann Finkbeiner

Robert Corey

Chris Reynolds

Carl Cott

Grace Cott

Edward Deschamps

Margit Deschamps

Katherine M. Dubbs

Wayne and Debra Dubbs

Lewis Gene Ebersole

Gerri Ebersole

Paul L. Edinger, Jr.

Ann Edinger

Charles W. Elliott

Margaret Elliott

James T. English

Margery English

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

FALL 2019

Robert L. and Fern I. Erdman James and Brenda Bomberger

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Donald E. Eshelman

Norma Eshelman

Robert Henry Forney, Jr.

James Easton

Jessica Easton

Baird and Marion Krecker

Arthur Sedmont

Walter Sipe

Chester and Lola Fox

Chester and Sandra Fox

Dreer H. Graburn

Lynne Graburn

Lois K. Griesemer

Roland and Jill Morris

Barry E. Hair

Gertrude Hair

Vernon E. Hazlett

Jean Hazlett

Edgar L. Herbine

Alice Herbine

Sidney S. Hersh

Joel Hersh and Cynthia Tyger

Burton and Grace Hineline

Todd Hineline and Cynthia Bartynski

Gail I. Hoch

Robert Wm. Lichty

Florabelle Lichty

Benjamin Loscher

Robert and Leslie Loscher

John D. Lucas

Jane Lucas

Anna Kolchin Mellin

John and Barbara Kolchin

Ann Miller

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Jean Montello

Joan Muffler

Richard W. Morgan

Phyllis Morgan

David and Elizabeth Morris

Roland and Jill Morris

Elaine Mosgrave

Charles and Louise Mosgrave

Vel Naylor

Randall Gotwalt

James C. Nickle

Samuel and Laura McElheny

Charles L. Nixon

Gail Nixon

William Northey

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Janet Oberholtzer

William Oberholtzer

John & Eveleen Oberholtzer William Oberholtzer Ronald Oberholtzer

William Oberholtzer

Thomas Oberholtzer

William Oberholtzer

Daniel Padezanin

Richard and Judith McEwen

Robert Hoch

Arthur Painter, Jr.

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Michael J. Jenkins

Marjorie Jenkins

Thomas K. Pilston

Ronna Pilston

Francis B. Klein

Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc.

Homer O. Potter

Audrey Potter

David A. Rice

Nancy Rice

Otto M. Kline

Janet Townsend

Ellis Riebel

Joanne Riebel

Richard Koch

Kenneth and Janet Hartranft

Howard Rissmiller

Bonita Rissmiller

Hedy Kupersmit

Donald and Tina Marie Simington

Cokie Roberts

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Allen Lauderman

Jo-Ann Lauderman

Willie Schloeffel

Andrew and Doris Zelez

Michael Lema

Bob and Joanne Bateman

Raymond Simpson

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Jeffrey and Sharon Lee Wonderling

Sherrie Letcher

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Robert and Christine Cassel

Ron Chelius and Betty Behm

Charles and Carol Curry

Richard and Wendy Davis

Jeanne Kelly

Kyle Kemp

Deanne Molinari

Clinton Spiegel

Visiting Angel Living Assistance

Larry and Carol Wolford

Dorothy “Dot” Mae Stout

Crawford Caulking Co.

Mason Crawford

Elizabethtown Chapter No. 407, O.E.S.

Bruce and Joan Howarth

Sandi McCool

Ava Ritter

Joan Varacallo

Edith Wetherhill

George Boyd Tamski, Sr.

Darla Lee Tamski

Emery G. Thurston

Jean Thurston Weiss

Charles Townsend

Darla Lee Tamski

Lloyd Forrest Townsend

Janet Townsend

Royden E. Tyger

Joel Hersh and Cynthia Tyger

Sander Vanocur

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Betty Weamer

Suzanne Anderson

Patricia J. Weckerly

Ivan Weckerly

Earl Wenrich

Stuart and Barbara Brown

Todd A. Wert

Arthur and Dorothy Wert

Walter L. Wolf

Marjorie Jenkins

Herbert E. Zearing

Family

June E. Zearing

Family

Ted Zwiebel

John and Barbara Kolchin

The following memorial gift was omitted in the Spring 2019 issue of “Home’s Grown Kids.” We apologize for this error.

Constance Joan Reynolds

C. Robert and Catherine Wentz

Financial information about Masonic Village can be obtained by contacting us at 1-800-599-6454. In addition, Masonic Charities is required to file financial information with several states. Colorado: Colorado residents may obtain copies of registration and financial documents from the office of the Secretary of State. (303) 894-2680, http://www.sos.state.co.us/. Florida: SC No. 00774, A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-HELP-FLA. Georgia: full and fair description of the programs and activities of Masonic Charities and its financial statement are available upon request at the address indicated above. Illinois: Contracts and reports regarding Masonic Charities are on file with the Illinois Attorney General. Maryland: For the cost of postage and copying, documents and information filed under the Maryland charitable organizations laws can be obtained from the Secretary of State, Charitable Division, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401, (800) 825-4510. Michigan: MICS No. 11796 Mississippi: The official registration and financial information of Masonic Charities may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by calling 1-888-236-6167. New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY CALLING (973) 504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/ocp.htm#charity.

REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. New York: A copy of the latest annual report can be obtained from the organization or from the Office of the Attorney General by writing the Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. North Carolina: Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 1-888-830-4989. Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of Masonic Charities may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999.

Virginia: Financial statements are available from the State Office of Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA, 23218.

Washington: The notice of soliciation required by the Charitable Solicitation Act is on file with the Washington Secretary of State, and information relating to financial affairs of Masonic Charities is available from the Secretary of State, and the toll-free number for Washington residents: 1-800-332-4483. West Virginia: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305. REGISTRATION IN THE ABOVE STATES DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION OF MASONIC CHARITIES BY THE STATE.

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Leslie Bichner

HOME’S GROWN KIDS

Grant F. Stetzler

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MASONIC CHARITIES Office of Gift Planning One Masonic Drive • Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2219

You’re giving our kids a chance to find friendship and fulfillment!

Thank you for your support.