Grove City Masons donate to youth groups
May 14—GROVE CITY — When Grove City Masonic Lodge 603 invited some local youth groups to its dinner to give them donations, two Boy Scout troops couldn't make it. They were busy that night, doing volunteer work cleaning the roads of litter.
But the Masons were fine with that; it's exactly the kind of community service they were hoping to encourage.
At a recent dinner, the Masons gave more than $300 total to local Scout troops as well as to Job's Daughters and the New Castle Assembly Rainbow Girls.
The Scouts included Cub Scout Pack 76 and Troop 76 and Troop 19, which is an all-female Boy Scout troop.
"This money can help us with supplies and trips, but I think most of it will go towards our program that helps us pay for the memberships of kids that can't afford it," said Andrew Cozad, a representative for two troops receiving money.
The Masons presented the donations to Cozad and Catherine Stathes, who accepted on behalf of the Scouts, who were out on litter patrol.
"We learned that if you want to keep the money local, you have to give it local," Grand Master Richard Powell said. "We want to make sure that the people who need the money are getting it."
Another donation went to Job's Daughters, a group for Masons' family members that provides charity acts of their own.
The group was selling pens for the Masons for $4, with the money going toward hearing aids for children.
The final recipient was the New Castle Assembly Rainbow girls, which also raises money for charitable work. Their project is raising money for "My Stuffed Bags," a bag for foster children that features a bunch of gifts for them to keep.
The bag is designed for kids to be able to take between foster homes to make sure they have their possessions with them.
Both groups were given a $100 donation for their causes.
"It is extremely important for us to give back to the community, especially to our youth," Powell said. "The more we can help the youth in our community, the better our community can be."
