On November 28th, 2023, the Scottish Rite, NMJ hosted its second annual “A Night of Charity” event at Supreme Council headquarters in Lexington, MA. The event featured a live telethon, stories from charity recipients, and more!
After a successful “A Night of Charity” event in 2022, the Supreme Council brought our in-person Giving Tuesday celebration back for a second year. Every seat was filled at our fundraising dinner, and hundreds of Brothers from across the jurisdiction joined us online to tune into our live telethon. Together, we celebrated the life-changing work of our charities, the generosity of our donors, and raised over $750,000 to sustain our vision of caring for our members and creating a better world.
The “A Night of Charity” event was hosted at Supreme Council headquarters in Lexington, MA and featured dinner, entertainment, and more!
View the highlights from our 2023 A Night of Charity event and live telethon:
Touching Stories of Impact from Charity Recipients
Throughout the evening, attendees and Brothers at home were treated to several inspiring stories from those whose lives had been positively impacted by our Scottish Rite charities.
Pam and Don Rockhead express gratitude for the Children’s Dyslexia Center’s work in helping their son, Micah, overcome challenges related to dyslexia on stage during the telethon.
Brother William Clark III’s experience with the Grand Almoner’s Fund stood out and warmed the hearts of Brethren in the audience and streaming at home. Brother Clark, 32°, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at an early age and was unsure if he’d ever be able to walk or live a normal life.
As a child, he learned to walk with care from Shriners Hospitals. After becoming a Mason years later, his independence was further supported with help from our Grand Almoner's Fund to specially equip a vehicle. "The Shriners gave me my legs, and all these years later, the Scottish Rite gave me my wheels."
Listen to his entire moving story in the video below.
Presentation of Our New Scottish Rite Benevolent Foundation Video
Guests in Lexington and watching at home were also able to get a first look at our newest video for the Scottish Rite Benevolent Foundation titled “A Brighter Future.” The video, which recently won Gold at the international Mar-Com Awards, offers a unique and moving look at the way our Scottish Rite charities change lives and uplift communities.
Conceived and filmed entirely by our in-house team, we invite you to watch the award-winning piece below:
Keynote Presentation and live Q&A with our Guest of Honor, Tweed Roosevelt
Tweed Roosevelt, great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, addressed our A Night of Charity attendees in Lexington with a talk about his great-grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, and his ceremony of raising to the Master Mason degree. Later during our livestream telethon, he was interviewed by our telethon hosts, Brothers J.B. McNaughton, 33°, and PJ Roup, 33°.
Tweed Roosevelt addresses attendees at the 2023 A Night of Charity event
Tweed Roosevelt joins Brother PJ Roup, 33°, on stage during our live telethon
Celebrating the Opening of the First Children’s Dyslexia Center in NYC
Earlier this year, Scottish Rite Masons of New York opened New York City’s first Children’s Dyslexia Center (CDC). Completed in record time thanks to the generosity and determination of our New York Brethren, the completion of this project marks a momentous milestone for New York City – the largest school district in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction – as they strive to serve 100 students a year.
Learn more about the work that went into bringing NYC’s first CDC building to fruition in the video below.
Introducing the 2023 Masonic Hall of Fame Inductees
Since 2021, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library (a Scottish Rite charity) has honored exceptional Freemasons through a one-of-a-kind exhibit: “The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History.”
Each year a new class of inductees is introduced, with this year’s roster including former President Theodore Roosevelt, American politician Elijah Cummings, and voice actor Mel Blanc, among others.
Discover all the 2023 inductees and learn more about their remarkable lives in the video below.
Securing the Future for Our Scottish Rite Charities
Together we should all be extremely proud of the rousing success of our 2023 A Night of Charity event and telethon. Thanks to the generosity of our members, donors, and sponsors, we raised $763,064 for our Scottish Rite charities!
Over $750,000 was raised during Giving Tuesday for our Scottish Rite charities, surpassing our 2022 total!
A special thanks to our sponsors for their support.
Sovereign Grand Commander Walter Wheeler, 33° and staff from Supreme Council celebrate the conclusion of another successful Giving Tuesday event on stage.
Thank you to all who played a role in making our 6th annual Giving Tuesday celebration such a success. Through your kindness and generosity, our charities will continue to make a difference in the lives of our Brethren, their families, and our communities.