Masons help Scouts with office makeover
Three Fire's Council staff, Scout volunteers, and the Unity Masonic Lodge 48 of St. Charles renovated the lower level of the Scout's Norris Service Center located at 415 N. Second St. in St. Charles on Jan. 20-22.
In a three-day time span, six volunteers from the St. Charles Masonic Lodge; nine staff members, and Scout volunteers gave the lower level a makeover by cleaning work stations, and adding fresh paint to the walls, and entrance.
To say the space was overdue for an overhaul is an understatement. The walls hadn't seen a new coat of paint for over 10 years, and the wallpaper dated back to the 1970s. A total of 120 hours were donated to complete the project.
When calculated using the independent sector value of volunteer time per hour, this time is worth $2,502.00, a large sum that the Three Fires Council was able to save due to generous contributions of time and talent.
"It was natural for me to see the synergy between Unity Masonic Lodge and Three Fires Council because it mirrors what I recognized when I asked to become a Mason - that both organizations stress ones duty to God and Country, duty to others and duty to self,” said Mike Millette, Mason from the St. Charles Masonic Lodge. “I learned these values starting at age 8 as a Cub Scout, and I have always looked to achieve them in all things I do. The charge of Masons is 'To make good men better,' the BSA does the same by helping to develop boys into better young men. Unity Masonic Lodge is on an active campaign to re-engage the community as a whole and who better to begin with than the organization which starts encouraging active citizenship in the first grade."
Contributors were the men from the St. Charles Masonic Lodge, an organization committed to serving its community in a manner that is visible, productive and pro-active. The Masons believe it is their duty to provide leadership through action, a belief shared by the Boy Scouts of America. The BSA and Masons' active attitudes and partnership on projects large and small help to bring positive change to the community.
The Three Fires Council serves over 37,200 youth throughout Kane, DuPage, Kendall, DeKalb, and parts of Will and Cook counties. Our mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetime by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. For information, visit www.threefirescouncil.org.