- What is the National Masonic Foundation for Children?
- What is NMFC's mission?
- What is NMFC's philosophy?
- How is NMFC's mission fulfilled?
- Why was NMFC established and when?
- What are NMFC's long-term goals?
- How can the problem of substance abuse be addressed?
- How does Masonic Model Student Assistance Program work?
- How effective is the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program?
- How do Freemasons participate in these programs?
- What are some other NMFC activities?
- What is Freemasonry?
1. What is the National Masonic Foundation For Children?
NMFC is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization supported by Masonic Grand Lodges, allied Masonic organizations, and other caring and concerned individuals and organizations.
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2. What is NMFC's mission?
The mission of the National Masonic Foundation for Children is the establishment of the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program (MMSAP) in schools, to help the youth of this country lead productive, useful, and healthy lives.
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3. What is NMFC's philosophy?
NMFC builds on Freemasonry's centuries-old tradition of helping the most vulnerable in our society, including the very young. Today, more than ever, children need help in becoming responsible adults as they face countless challenges - broken homes, patterns of substance abuse in families, a complex world with many traditional nurturing institutions shaken. Freemasons are sensitive to the fundamental belief that our children are our future. We cannot neglect the needs of today's children if we expect them to grow up to be happy, healthy, productive stewards of our future.
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4. How is NMFC's mission fulfilled?
NMFC works through and with individual State Grand Lodges to establish substance abuse programs designed to reach young people. In certain circumstances, NMFC also works with state government and education officials, prevention professionals, health systems, and the general public to help foster addiction prevention activities. Grand Lodges, individual Freemasons, and the general public are informed about the work being done and what programs successfully prevent drug and alcohol abuse.
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5. Why was NMFC established and when?
Every year addiction claims younger victims. And there are the tragedies associated with addiction, such as suicide (a leading cause of death among adolescents), pregnancy (more than a million teenage girls become pregnant each year), violence, physical and sexual child abuse, homicide, depression, tragedy on the highways, mental and physical illness, birth defects, and on and on. All Americans are being called on to help confront these addiction-associated tragedies. The National Masonic Foundation for Children is Freemasonry's contribution to this vital effort. In response to this threat to our children, the 1986 Conference of Grand Masters voted to establish the NMFC. Legal groundwork was completed and a formal program plan was approved later that year.
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6. What are NMFC's long-term goals?
NMFC is working to organize prevention programs in all 50 States, and Canada and Europe, and to communicate the success of these programs. By publicizing the positive results, NMFC hopes to stimulate further community action across the country.
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7. How can the problem of substance abuse be addressed?
Most experts agree a successful strategy for dealing with drug abuse contains four approaches - awareness, treatment, enforcement, and prevention . NMFC believes prevention is the most critical of the four. Prevention is, hands down, the most important component of a successful solution. Awareness efforts inform and educate the public. Treatment programs provide assistance to those already addicted. Enforcement activities curb the supplies and penalize the suppliers. But these latter three only treat the results of substance abuse problems. Prevention stops use and abuse before it can get started. It interrupts the addictive cycle which may have gone on for generations in a family. Another important plus - prevention programs can be implemented for a fraction of the cost of treatment, enforcement or even publicity programs.
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8. How does Masonic Model Student Assistance Program work?
The Masonic Model Student Assistance Program originated in the early 1980's. The Masonic Model program trains a core group of five to seven educators (administrators, teachers, school nurses, guidance counselors, etc.) from an individual school to identify those children most likely to succumb to addiction and to successfully intervene to help these young people. This intensive training usually lasts three days.
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9. How effective is the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program?
Experience with schools with MMSAP trained core teams in place shows that most children who are identified as potentially at-risk, or who are in the early stages of addiction, can be successfully steered away from the addictive cycle. As of 2008 more than 40,000 educators have been trained through the Masonic Model Program with more than half a million school children successfully referred to, and helped by, this program. The prevention approach works!
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10. How do Freemasons participate in these programs?
Freemasons contribute in a number of ways. Grand Lodges may provide initial organizational and community guidance, or financial support and materials. Individual Lodges may supply meeting space, help with food or meeting materials, or volunteer help. In many cases, Lodges have acted as sponsor for a nearby school with positive results ultimately extending throughout the entire community. It has been shown time and again that Freemasons can also provide a positive presence and a motivating influence on group activities. With Masonic Lodges (over 13,000) located in virtually every community or region in the United States, Freemasons are uniquely positioned to have a dramatic impact on improving the lives of our nation's young people.
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11. What are some other NMFC activities?
In addition to organizing comprehensive and effective prevention programs, and assisting member jurisdictions in establishing and operating those programs, the NMFC office and its Board of Directors have focused on a number of activities. These include: promoting the Masonic Life Skills Youth Camp, a week-long summer camp for 11-16 year olds devoted to emphasizing the principles of respect, responsibility, and relationships; developing a network of NMFC representatives within Grand Lodges; attending Grand Lodge Regional meetings, the Conference of Grand Masters, and professional (drug and alcohol prevention) meetings; establishing working relationships with professional groups; producing and distributing to Grand Lodges a complete guide and materials to implement MMSAP in their jurisdictions; and creating a comprehensive publications program, including a regular newsletter. As a result of its efforts, NMFC has established a national identification for Freemasonry on the subject of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse.
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12. What is Freemasonry?
Freemasonry is the oldest and largest fraternal order in the world. It took form several centuries ago and has evolved into a broad based, non-sectarian organization devoted to the principles of caring for others, relief of the distressed, and the power of truth, faith, hope and charity.
At present, there are approximately 4 million Masonic family members nationwide who continue the Craft's commitment to assisting the needy, especially children and the elderly. Over the years, Freemasons have supported research and treatment of a wide range of illnesses and injuries, including multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, retinal disease, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, burns, aphasia and dyslexia, leukemia, diabetes, birth defects, schizophrenia, and language and speech disorders in children. The root causes of many of these health problems and accidents are directly linked to drug and alcohol abuse.
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