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Why the Valley of Portland Supports the Children’s Dyslexia Center

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As you go through your life, it’s important to ask yourself these critical questions: Do I live the ‘Rite’ way? How am I incorporating the Scottish Rite’s core values into my daily life? How can I support its charities?

Let’s take a moment to focus on one Scottish Rite core value—Service to Humanity—and see how the Valley of Portland embraces it through its passionate support of the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center.


A Life-Changing Helping Hand for Young Readers

Do you know that 1 in 5 Americans battles some form of dyslexia? This neurological condition basically “scrambles” how printed words appear on the page to would-be readers. And when those readers are children, the condition can pose a huge obstacle to their educational progress, their ability to keep up with peers, and their self-esteem.

That’s why Maine Masons have—for decades—committed hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to the Bikes for Books reading-incentive program. And why we at the Valley of Portland, as a Scottish rite organization, so ardently support the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center. If a child is struggling with reading difficulties that go unaddressed in local school systems, our support of the Children’s Dyslexia Center can make a major, positive impact on the lives of that child.

Long-Time Masonic Partnership with
Children’s Dyslexia Centers

Children’s Dyslexia Centers started 30 years ago in Newtonville, Massachusetts, and have now spread across the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Demonstrating our devotion to the Scottish Rite’s values, we now help support more than 1,100 children in 45 centers, including one in Rochester, New Hampshire, and two in Maine—one in Bangor and ours in Portland. The Bangor Center will soon celebrate its 25th anniversary, and Portland recently celebrated its 20th.

For a more in-depth look at Maine’s Children’s Dyslexia Centers, please see the upcoming issue of The Maine Mason magazine, and be on the watch for an exciting new film about the centers being produced with funding from the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation.

Please Support Our Fundraising Efforts

We urge you to support the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation’s critical support of Children’s Dyslexia Centers. Each center must fully fund and oversee its operations, and the Portland CDC budget for 2022-23 is $165,000. Additional funding would allow us to serve more children, including hopefully the 52 on our waiting list. There are several ways you can help:

  • The Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation provides $2 for $1 matching grants (up to $3,000) to Lodges in support of the CDCs. Please urge your Lodge to take advantage of this generous opportunity.

  • The L.L. Bean Raffle should fund up to $18,000 (11 percent) of our budget. Tickets are $10 and the three winners will be awarded $1,000, $750, and $500 L.L. Bean gift cards. Tickets are now available for purchase at the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Centers and from many Valley of Portland members. If you can sell tickets, please contact the Children’s Dyslexia Centers at 207-773-4949 or call Tom Pulkkinen, the Center’s Chairman, at 207-350-9525.

 

  •  Our 2nd annual Festival of Trees will be held on the two weekends following Thanksgiving at the Portland Masonic Center. Thirty trees were donated last year for our first Festival, and we hope to have 40 this year. People buy raffle tickets and place them in collection boxes beside the tree(s) that they want to win. If you or your business would like to donate a decorated tree with presents, or become an event sponsor, please contact the contact the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center at 207-773-4949 or call Tom Pulkkinen at 207-350-9525.  Also, please let us know if you would like to assist during this important fundraiser, which we hope will net over $55,000.


A Final Word:
Leadership & Teaching Opportunities

The support of the Valley of Portland and the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction for the Children’s Dyslexia Centers offers exciting, high-impact leadership and teaching opportunities.  If you or someone you know may be interested in learning more about these opportunities, please contact Barbara Labrecque at the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center, 207-773-4949.

 

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

Valley of Portland Supports Students with Educational Scholarships

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Despite the hardships and difficulties we are facing due to COVID-19 in 2021, the Society continues to make an impact for students and assist in their dreams of achieving a higher education. This year, the Scottish Rite awarded a total of $99,600.00; the Arnold Veague Scholarship Fund awarded $85,000.00 and the Leon Abbott Scholarship Fund awarded $14,600.00 in Maine. 

A total of forty-one students were awarded Scholarships comprising thirty-seven Veague Scholarship recipients ranging from $500 to $2,000, four Abbott Scholarship recipients of $3,650, and $20,000 to the Portland and Bangor Children’s Dyslexia Centers each. Of those forty-one students awarded, eleven were from the Valley of Portland!

These Scholarship programs help high school seniors, undergraduates, or graduate students currently enrolled at an accredited college or university pursue their dream of obtaining a trade or accredited college or university degree. One of the main goals of the Brotherhood is to support those who seek to grow and improve themselves so that they might make their family, friends, and community a better place. By supporting educational goals, we are supporting the bright and promising youth of the future. Learn more about the Scholarships below: 

The Abbott Scholarship Program: Named for Leon M. Abbott, Sovereign Grand Commander from 1921 to 1932, the Abbott Scholarship Program provides financial support for the continuing undergraduate and graduate education of Scottish Rite Masons, family members of Scottish Rite Masons and members of Masonic Youth Groups including (but not limited to) the Order of DeMolay, Job’s Daughters International and The International Order of Rainbow for Girls.

The Veague Scholarship has the same requirements, however, only Maine children are eligible. 

Interested in applying for future Scholarships with the Scottish Rite Mason of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction? Read more about our eligibility requirements below: 

Scholarship program:

  • A Scottish Rite Mason of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction who is in good standing.
  • A student related (by blood or legal means) to a current or deceased member of the Scottish Rite in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.
  • A member of a Masonic sponsored youth group located within the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (Examples include DeMolay International, Job’s Daughters, Order of Rainbow for Girls)
  • To be considered for an Abbott or Veague Scholarship, applicants must meet one of the following qualifications (please note that local Valleys may have more strict GPA requirements):
    • A high school senior, currently accepted at an accredited trade school who has attained a minimum grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
    • A high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student currently enrolled at an accredited college or university.
  • Leon M. Abbott Scholarship Application should be submitted to the local Valley of the sponsoring Scottish Rite Mason. The application deadline is April 1st of each year. Please reach out to the Secretary of said Valley. You can find applicable contact information here. 

When an application is filled out, the applicant is able to apply for both scholarships, however, only one scholarship can be awarded to each applicant. If you have any questions while reviewing or filling out the application, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

We encourage each and all to learn more about the Brotherhood and consider applying for next year’s Scholarships. Mark your calendars for April 1st to ensure you do not miss the deadline! For more information on this scholarship and the charities the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction supports, click here.

Thank you for your continued support of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. It is our belief and hope to continue to help those who most need it strive for greater heights.

Valley of Portland Makes a Difference in their Local Community

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The Valley of Portland makes it a priority to support their local community through fundraising and donation-based contributions to local nonprofits. As Scottish Rite Masons, one of the core values we strive to exemplify is Service to Humanity. Through the work of our Charities, our members are able to make a meaningful difference in their communities and the lives of others.

Over the years, we have supported large and small charities alike like the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Portland, the Grand Almoner’s Fund, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Leon M. Abbott Scholarships and the Membership Education Fund, in addition to smaller local community organizations that strive to bring good, growth and education to Maine and beyond. 

For over two decades, the Scottish Rite Masons, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, have been national leaders in the effort to help children and their families overcome the painful obstacles of dyslexia. Through our continued support to the Children’s Dyslexia Centers in Portland and Bangor this year, we were able to total donations over $50,000. These Centers teach children with dyslexia how to read at no cost to their families. Since 2002, the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Portland has helped over 318 children in the Southern Maine area discover the gift of reading, opening them up to a world of opportunities that once seemed unattainable. The Center has also trained over 77 local educators in the best-practice approaches to teaching reading skills.

To continue to support children with education and discovery, we made a donation of $500 to the new Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine that was just built and recently opened in Portland. They strive to be an indispensable community resource devoted to children’s continued development and learning. We value their dedication to relationships, and ability to work together with parents, caregivers and diverse partners to build a foundation of educational support for children and families across Maine.

In addition to supporting children locally, we also believe in joining to help with the fight against hunger in our communities. The Wayside Food Programs of Portland and the York County Shelter Programs Food Pantry are two such organizations that strive to address hunger, food waste and poverty through volunteer-driven programming and collaborative, cross-industry network partners in Southern Maine. To continue to support their important mission, we made a $500 donation to both programs. They, like us, believe that the health and vibrancy of our community heavily depend on the physical, social and economic well-being of all members that live and work in our neighborhoods and towns. To learn more about these organizations and how you can become involved and make a difference, visit their websites today. 

We encourage each and all to learn more about local charities and nonprofits to see how we can continue to support the important work they do and give back through donations and voluntarism. For more information on charities supported by the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, please click here.

Thank you for your continued support of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. We are excited to continue to reach higher, find truth, grow our Brotherhood and care for our members and community.