With great pride and warm hearts our Masonic Temple continues a tradition of supporting public education. Freemasons have done so ever since Judge Augustus Woodward (Woodward Ave.) set up the first system of public education in 1817 in downtown Detroit. Much later in 2001 Grand Master Robert Conley requested that Michigan Freemasons present a gift of volunteer time to schools (especially elementary schools) to demonstrate that our fraternity still cares about children. We call this effort the Beacon Project.

Since the inception of this program our Temple has been involved in local schools to the tune of many hundreds of volunteer hours by tutoring, mentoring, demonstrating, and even grooming the school grounds. In the Spring of 2009, Northwood Ancient Craft Lodge #551, Royal Oak Lodge #464, Royal Arch Chapter #167, and the Order of Eastern Star Chapter #382, all participated in an annual Pen=Pal program with 4^th grade students at Royal Oak’s Northwood Elementary School.

This Yearly event began seven years ago when teacher Pat Hein approached Beacon Project Freemasons with a unique and innovative idea. She described how she was about to involve her 4^th graders in a "learn-to-write-a-letter" unit. However, teacher Hein lamented that in the past the students wrote the project letters to her, their teacher, and thusly student enthusiasm was somewhat thwarted. She asked if her class might take the lesson more seriously if it wrote letters to our Lodge members. The result of this thought was so successful that this student-Mason pen-pal engagement turned into a wonderful ongoing, yearly event. Each spring, teacher Hein’s students write very nice, well written (and cute) letters to us Beacon volunteers. We respond back with a letter to each of the students. Then a tea-party is put on by the class for us pen-pal volunteers where we get to meet each other. This annual activity has been noticed and recorded at different times in the Daily Tribune, Mirror, Royal Oak Review, Oakland Press, and Point-to-Point Masonic periodical.

Here are some sweet and charming examples of what the kids wrote to us this year 2009, expressing their enthusiasm for environmental responsibility. They call it "going green".

Jasmin to Bro. Chris Boyer- "At recess me and my friends go outside with a bag and collect all kinds of garbage."

Jordan to Bro. Warren Boyer- "I recycle and take quick showers."

Camryn to Bro. Alvin Cook- "My school is a green school; we recycle cans, paper, and waste; we use both sides of our paper; we also reuse cans and paper for projects."

Carson to Bro. Harley Wood- "We also plant flowers and trees around our school."

Aniya to Bro. Gerald Christie- "When it was Earth Day I turned off all the lights at my house so it could save energy."

Nathan to Bro. James McPherson- "Northwood (school) is a green school. Isn’t that Cool? Once we had a waste-free-lunch-day. Isn’t that Cool? I think we should have that every day. Don’t you?"

Bryon to Doris Sparks (Eastern Star)- "We recycle more than we throw out."

Conner to Bro. Ron Aldridge- "I also use both sides of paper so we don’t need to cut down more trees."

Kayla to Bro. George Staten- "I also formed a club with my friends called, ‘the environmental girls’ and we picked up trash that was in our baseball field."

The Masonic Lodges and Chapters at the Madison Heights Temple have put forth more than 2000 hours of volunteer work since the inception of the Beacon Project nine years ago. In 2009, Northwood School received over 50 hours of tutorial help from W.B. Fred Kaiser. Another 60 hours was awarded to the Pen-Pal volunteers. Lastly, New Haven Middle School received instruction and mentoring in horticulture with several visits from your truly. The school year of 2008-9 was another splendid Beacon Year for us.

Accolades and many thanks to all who have participated in any way over the years to our Beacon Project efforts. You have made Freemasonry look good to the public by living up to the Masonic precept of "spreading the cement of brotherly love and affection." You have given the precious gift of time to those who benefit from it most, our children.