Local Lodge Helps Provide Funding for Hotspots
In this time of remote learning and increased technology use in schools, students that do not have access to internet or technology may fall behind. The Georgetown-Ridge Farm school saw the rising need to help students by offering to provide mobile hotspots and other technology to their students in need, but they needed some assistance from the community to make this goal a reality.
Russell Lodge #154 contacted the Illinois Masonic Children’s Assistance Program (IMCAP) to see if funding was available for the school’s project. Lodge members were pointed in the direction of the Youth Organization Connection. This program was created to partner with local lodges in providing micro-grants to organizations and projects that benefited children in the community. Through the Youth Organization Connection, Russell Lodge #154 was approved for $7,000 to contribute to the Georgetown-Ridge Farm school to purchase hotspots.
Other local businesses and organizations that partnered with Russell Lodge #154 included Longview Bank, Catlin Bank, Sunset Funeral Homes, Georgetown Methodist Church, Flowers on Main, Toni Stone Insurance Agency, The Grapevine, and The American Legion Auxiliary. Georgetown-Ridge Farm school has already started to purchase and distribute the hotspots to students in need so that they can access their remote learning.
If you know of a children’s organization in your community that your Lodge would like to assist, please contact IMCAP to learn more about the Youth Organization Connection. Information can also be accessed under the “Lodge Programs” tab.