Children's Dyslexia Center of New York City Grand Opening

by Bridget Steele Assistant Director of Charities

Cover Photo: Most Worshipful Richard J. Kessler, Grand Master of New York, is joined by members of the Trustees of the Masonic Hall at the Center's ribbon cutting ceremony.

New York City has long been known for its fast pace, and New Yorkers don’t like to wait for anything.

Last summer, the Trustees of the Masonic Hall and Home in New York decided to continue their longstanding tradition of helping children by opening a Children’s Dyslexia Center in the Masonic Hall building in the heart of Manhattan. The project was a massive undertaking, but they made their idea a reality in months, not years. The turnaround time was nothing short of remarkable.

“We built it in six months,” said Brother Nathan Lipper, a member of the Trustees who also serves as the Chair of the new Center’s Board of Governors. “We’ve moved heaven and earth to create this facility so we can begin having children come in here. My colleagues of the Trustees of the Masonic Hall and Home were not only enthusiastic but endorsed the idea wholeheartedly, realizing that once we have a facility here in New York City, it will probably be the greatest facility CDC has ever seen.”

Brother Michael Siegel, another member of the Trustees, was instrumental in launching the Center. “Not that long ago, this was just some office space, and we looked at it, and we saw a unique opportunity. We didn’t have a tremendous amount of time or the ability to sit back and wait. So we started doing demolition, and we started building at the very same time,” he said.

The new Joanne Kessler Children’s Dyslexia Center takes its name from the wife of MW Richard J. Kessler, 33°, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York. A long-time teacher, Mrs. Kessler, who passed away in December of 2021, dedicated her life to helping children.

A grand opening event for the new Children’s Dyslexia Center occurred in April, complete with a ribbon- cutting ceremony and an inspiring speaking program featuring Masonic and CDC leaders along with New York Councilman Erik Bottcher in attendance. A proclamation provided by New York City Mayor Eric Adams was also read to honor the occasion as “The Children’s Dyslexia Center Day.”

Ill. Brother G. Michael Morris, who serves as President of the Trustees, spoke about the organization’s long history of caring for children. “Starting back in 1893, the Trustees formed a home for orphans in Utica, New York. We went a hundred years in that tradition, and we’re continuing that tradition here today. Our goal here is to be helping at least 100 children a year, and it will be the largest Center in the whole program.”

Ill. Brother David Sharkis, CDC Director of Operations, spoke about the impact the new Center would have on New York City students. “Tonight, it’s truly a milestone in the initiative to help children in New York City who everyday struggle with their combat with dyslexia. For three decades, the Children’s Dyslexia Centers have been training educators in tutoring children. We have trained thousands of educators directly and indirectly served tens of thousands of kids. Yet we’ve never had a presence in the home of the largest school system in our Jurisdiction— New York City.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received phone calls from parents and grandparents and caregivers who are desperate to help their child in New York City and the five boroughs, and how hard it was for me to tell them that we couldn’t help them. That day ends tonight.”

New York City Council member Erik Bottcher had this to share about the Center’s opening: “I really want to thank you for inviting me to be here tonight to have the opportunity to say thank you, thank you, thank you for something that is going to help untold numbers of children. The issue of dyslexia is something that has not historically gotten the attention that it should. That seems to be changing in recent years. Our new mayor is someone who was diagnosed with dyslexia in his late teens, and he credits that diagnosis with turning his entire life around. We have many great activists here in New York who have been fighting to get attention to this issue, because it’s a very, very serious problem.

“The exciting thing that I’m looking forward to about this is training teachers to go out and help others. So you’re not only going to be helping the people who come in here for direct services every year, you’re going to be amplifying that out among our school system… On behalf of the New York City Council, I really want to thank you all for all you’re doing, and congratulations on this great achievement.”

Board of Governors Chair Brother Nathan Lipper knows the Center’s grand opening is only the beginning. “God willing, hundreds and thousands of children will be helped by our facility, and this will be a facility that they’ll be talking about 100 years from now—how the Masons of the State of New York have helped children with dyslexia and will give them new lives and new ways of not only reading but to spur them on to greater things. I’m extremely proud and extremely happy to be a part of this wonderful undertaking.”

For more information on your local Center and how you can help students access essential tutoring resources, please visit: www.ChildrensDyslexiaCenters.org