Scottish Rite Philanthropies

Valley of Waco

A Tradition of Giving

Masons, since their arrival in North America, in the 1730's, have provided for their poor and penniless brethren. It is recorded in the minutes of Lodge No. 17, Queen-Town, Maryland: "May 29th, 1777, Ordered that a sum of 24 pounds be sent to Brother Samuel T. Wright, a distressed prisoner at New York."

Assisting our less fortunate Brethren is the bedrock upon which all Masonic philanthropies are built. It is the heart and soul of Scottish Rite charities.

We Continue the Tradition . . .
Our Valley is a part of this great tradition of philanthropy and charity. We support the Scottish Rite Women's Dormitory at the University of Texas in Austin and the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. We also support and use the dyslexia and learning programs, which were developed by the staff at the Children's Hospital.

How We Fund Our Tradition . . .
We fund our tradition from gifts, proceeds from our investments, and the Almoner's Fund. This fund is used for our needy brethren and others who have an acute short-term crisis in their lives through which the Almoner can provide assistance. Should a brother wish to serve as a Representative of the Almoner, he should contact a member of the Almoner's Advisory Committee, or our office in Waco.

The Almoner . . .
The Brethren elect the Almoner annually. He is the Brother who is responsible for raising, investing, and disbursing monies from the Almoner's Fund. The "Basket of Fraternal Assistance" supports this Fund. The basket is passed at each reunion and stated meeting. No overhead is charged to this fund. Every penny is used for charitable purposes. Brethren may contribute to this fund at any time. Your gift will give you the opportunity to be part of our grand Tradition of helping our fellow man.

This program has been established to assist the communities, where Waco Scottish Rite Bodies Masons live, to improve and make the community a better place to live. It's mission is to provide support of special community needs, activities and projects for which normal funding is either not available or not totally available. Eligible activities and projects are limited to public community-wide activities and projects. The program will not provide funds for continuing operational costs and no advance commitment of funds can be made. The annual amount of community awards will be limited to the proceeds made on the funds designated to support this program. If you would like more information about this program, contact Waco Scottish Rite Bodies at 1-800-880-7208 or e-mail wsrb@hot.rr.com. To apply for a Community Grant Online, go to link below.