Overland Park Masons Award 12 Scholarships
Overland Park, KS – Overland Park Lodge #436 in Overland Park, KS will be awarding 12 scholarships totaling $14,500 to students in and around Overland Park, KS. Overland Park Lodge will be hosting an Awards Banquet on May 18, 2017 where the scholarship recipients and their families will join the masons of the lodge in celebration of their achievements.
Receiving scholarships will be: Dakota Kemp (Gardner, KS), Jackson Derby (Olathe, KS), Brandon Furman (Olathe, KS), Carson Sader (Olathe, KS), Sara Wilkinson (Overland Park, KS), Ruth Wilkinson (Overland Park, KS), Cody Sader (Olathe, KS), Kevin Wiesner (Olathe, KS), Katy Hagen (Leawood, KS), Stockton Grunewald (Olathe, KS), Austin Fitzgerald (Olathe, KS), and Jordan Winter (Lenexa, KS).
The scholarships, which range from $500 to $5,000, are awarded to graduating high school seniors and students already attending four- and two-year universities and colleges, including junior colleges and vocational and technical colleges, throughout the state.
The Kansas Masonic Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm for the Grand Lodge of Kansas, its 200+ Statewide Masonic Lodges and Kansas Masons, will award of 365 scholarships to Kansas students in April and May. The awards total nearly $310,000.
“We are proud to recognize these students with scholarships,” said Brian Hancock, Master of Overland Park Lodge. “They are an example of the best that today’s youth have to offer for our future. We hope this scholarship helps them realize their career goals.”
In 2016, the Lodge awarded over $10,000 in scholarships and other charitable donations. “With this year only beginning, we expect to increase our involvement in the community even more and help those in need as much as possible,” Hancock said.
“It is with great pride that we, as masons, are able to provide this type of financial support to our future leaders,” said Michael J. Tavares, President of the Kansas Masonic Foundation. “Our commitment to the scholarship program – and to the numerous other programs that benefit Kansans and Kansas communities through the Foundation and the Masonic Lodges throughout the state – is at the core of our belief that charity beyond ourselves strengthens our community.”
Over the 50 years of its existence, the Foundation, along with the Grand Lodge of Kansas, its 200+ statewide lodges, and almost 17,000 Kansas Masons, have given thousands of scholarships and millions of dollars to deserving students in Kansas.
“Whether it is this scholarship program, the almost $30 million that Kansas Masons have donated to the University of Kansas Cancer Center, the $20 million that was recently committed as part of the Foundation’s 50th Anniversary, or any of the other worthwhile endeavors to help others that Masons are committed to do, our Fraternity provides significant charitable support to Kansas and throughout the world,” said Cole Presley, Grand Master of Masons in Kansas. Presley also noted that more than $360 Million has been raised annually by the American Masonic philanthropy alone.
About Overland Park Lodge #436
Overland Park Lodge #436 is a 501(c)(10) nonprofit organization and the largest Masonic Lodge in Overland Park, KS, chartered March 1, 1923 under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Our philosophy is “We take good men and make them better through faith, hope, charity, fraternity, and brotherly love.” Our nearly 300 members are of all ages and backgrounds with a common desire to better themselves, their families and their community. For more information, visit opmasons.org.
About the Kansas Masonic Foundation, Inc.
The Kansas Masonic Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization benefiting Kansans and Kansas communities. The Kansas Masonic Foundation was founded in 1966 to encourage philanthropy from Kansas Masons, their family and friends for charitable, educational and scientific programs. One hundred percent of all donations go toward the various charitable programs. For more information, visit kansasmasonic.foundation.
About the Grand Lodge of Kansas
The Grand Lodge of Kansas is the governing body of Freemasonry in Kansas, formed March 17, 1856, five years before Kansas’s statehood. Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most widely recognized fraternal organization in the world. Freemasons are men, age 18 and over, of good character who strive to improve themselves and make the world a better place. Kansas Freemasonry has nearly 17,000 Kansas Masons and 200+ Lodges. For more information, visit kansasmason.org.
