STB-MA87
"MASONS CARE ABOUT CHILDREN"
by
Carl W. Stenberg, RWGM, , Pennsylvania
This Short talk bulletln has been adapted from a presentntion
made to the conference of Grand Secretaries in North Americn at
their Annunl Meeting in Calgary in February 1987 by Brother Carl
W. Stenberg Right Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in
Pennsylvania who serves as a Director of the Nationial Masonic
Foundntion for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol abuse among
Children
At the 1986 conference of Grand Masters of North America in
Arlington, Virginia, approval was given for the formation of
''The National Masonic Foundation For The Prevention of Drug
and Alcohol Abuse Among Children.''This was probably the most
positive statement expressed by the conference of Grand Masters
in many years, a declaration that "MASONS CARE ABOUT CHILDREN."
According to the 1986 issue of Prevention Parentline, the top
seven discipline problems in public schools in the 1940s were:
talking, chewning gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothing, and not
putting paper in wastebaskets. The top seventeen discipline
problems in the 1980s are: drug abuse, pregnancy, rape, assault,
arson, murder, vandalism, gang warfare, veneral disease,
alcohol abuse, suicide, robbery, burglary, bombings,
absenteeism, extortion, and abortion.
My Brethren, it takes little reflection on our part to recognize
that we are living in a different world today, a world where
challenges are different, a world-where values have been
altered, a world where issues that at one time seemed important
to us are no longer important issues to young people.
A documentary on public television stations recently dealt with a
subject they termed 'A generation at risk." This documentary,
while dealing with the problem of drug and alcohol abuse,
expanded its concern to problems of suicide, pregnancy,
dropping out of school and other issues. When a total analysis is
made, however, it is impossible to separate drug and alchol abuse
from practically every other major problem which young people
must face today.
It is a characteristic of a complacent society to ignore that
which we do not want to see or hear or which does not affect us
directly. It is far too easy when we eat three meals a day, go
home to a warm house at night, and sleep in a comfortable bed to
ignore that which is adversely affecting what is rapidly becoming
a majority of our population.
A short time ago a national publication revealed that in one of
the California school systems sexual contact among children began
at 11.1 years for females and 11.4 for males. This is from the
same geographical area that has been fighting against sex
education in the schools for decades on the grounds that it was a
problem which did not exist there. We, as a society, can ill
afford to take the same position with the current devastating
threat of drug and alcohol abuse.
My Brethren, if we needed a selfish reason to support our
national program, the potential loss to our fraternity in members
alone would justify our action. The potential of what can happen
if we, as citizens of the world, fail to control this "CANCER"
that is destroying our youth will provide all the incentive we
need.
In looking at the membership statistics of the Masonic Fraternity
over the past several decades, we must realize that to a great
extent we, as a fraternity, have lost an entire generation
through a lack of interest in the principles and philosophies
for which we stand. What we are facing today could be far worse.
Perhaps the greatest problem which will confront the National
Masonic Foundation for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Among Children is the correlation of effort among grand
jurisdictions which have no nationally based organizational
level.
Probably the greatest philanthropy that has ever existed is the
Shriner's program for crippled children's hospitals. The Shrine,
however, is made up of a fraction of the Masons of the United
States and Canada. Think how much more we should be able to
accomplish with so many more members to draw from. The Shrine,
however, has a national level and has the organizational effort
to correlate the activity of their philanthropy.
Every jurisdiction, although having the same major problem of the
threat of drug and alcohol abuse, is going to have unique
problems unto themselves due to operational procedures which
function within that state or province. I will attempt to
emphasize some of the procedures which we have found to be
successful in Pennsylvania which hopefully may serve as a guide
to other jurisdictions in establishing their criteria and goals.
From our experience in entering into the program through the
Pennsylvania Foundation For the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol
Abuse Among Children, we became aware in a short time that the
most effective way we could deal with this problem was through
professional agencies already in existence. We also learned
that it was necessary, prior to dealing with any of the agencies,
to check out their references and qualifications through the
Department of Health and Education. There are many organizations
ready and willing to accept whatever help we can provide but are
not qualified or equipped to handle problems of this magnitude.
We had to determine where we could be most effective.
Our basic concern, as is the basic concern of the National
Foundation, is not rehabilitation but rather prevention through
education. With the recognition of this approach, those Agencies
available with which we can work are narrowed down considerably.
At the present time, the Pennsylvania Foundation has established
a working relationship with 15 different organizations within
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Some of the organizations we work with do involve rehabilitation,
but we have made it a strict practice to deal only with the
educational end of that organization's function. For example,
one agency with which we work is the Gateway Rehabilitation
Center. Although their primary function is that of
rehabilitation, our relationship with them has provided for the
production of an educational film and a provision to hire a
psychiatrist to work with children who are growing up in the
homes of alcoholics and drug addicts to prepare them to deal with
the reintroduction of that family member back into their home.
Our relationship with the Department of Health and Education
involves the training of selected public school educators in how
to handle drug and alcohol abuse in the school system. This has
proven not only to be a highly beneficial portion of our
program but has exposed Freemasonry widely not only to the
public but to the state government.
In this program, we provide use of our "Masonic Conference
Center" as the location for three and five-day training seminars.
The Masonic Conference Center is adjacent to our Masonic Home
complex which exposes to many for the first time one of our other
Masonic charities.
To give you an idea of the magnitude of this portion of our
program, 1,199 participants took advantage of the opportunity for
this training involving a total of 84 days in 1986. The Founda-
tion provided the room and board while the Department of Health
and Education provided the training personnel.
At two locations, the St. Francis Medical Center and Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital, we are involved with pre-natal
and postnatal education of mothers of addicted infants.
At Mercyhurst Preparatory School, we support and underwrite the
expenses for a group of young people who, through theatrical
exemplification, express to their peers the effects of becoming
involved with drugs and alcohol.
The Foundation has also awarded a $6,000 scholarship to a
registered nurse to complete work in the field of chemical
dependency in pregnant women and their newborns.
Another type of program we are involved with is through
"Gaudenzia, Inc.-Vantage House" in the support of an educational
curriculum for children totally geared to prevention and educa-
tion. Through them, we are also supporting the publication of an
education pamphlet with statewide distribution aimed at parents
and educators as well as an orientation manual for mothers of
these children.
What I have expressed are some of the varieties of programs
with which our Foundation is currently involved in our
jurisdiction. Costs for these programs have ranged from a low of
$500 for the production of a training film to $11,500 for a more
extensive educational program. The extent of involvement would be
up to each jurisdiction .
In recognition that our program is still in its infancy, we would
certainly anticipate a continued investigation into the most
effective means through which we can contribute to control this
insidious disease.
There is in all probability no exact duplication of our programs
available in other jurisdictions. Variations in your efforts will
be necessary to fit those programs which will be available to you
in your jurisdiction. One of the functions of the National
Foundation is to provide for each jurisdiction advice and
guidance to organize your own foundation and/or efforts. At some
time in the near future, we anticipate that the National
Foundation will provide for you brochures describing the
Foundation and its organization.
We must never lose sight of the final objective of our efforts
"TO HELP CHILDREN." The public exposure, however, which Penn-
sylvania Freemasonry has experienced since the formation of the
foundation has been an unanticipated side benefit outside the
initial purpose of its origin. It is not predictable as to what
lasting effect the success of the National Foundation may have
on the history of Freemasonry.
We can, however, say with little reservation in regard to another
great foundation that as much as the Shrine helped create the
Crippled Children's Hopsitals the crippled children's hospital
has helped the Shrine. Perhaps one of the great needs of the
Masonic fraternity has been a national cause to unite our
efforts. Some day we hope it may be said that not only did
Freemasonry inspire the National Foundation but that the National
Foundation has given inspiration to Freemasonry.
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