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3^rd Annual MHCO Board of Directors Charity Auction

Please be a part of our 3^rd Annual On-line Charity Auction to benefit The Masonic Home for Children at Oxford.  The auction hopes to generate over $5,000 in charitable proceeds and includes some great items for bid.  New items will be posted every three to five days and many will be one-of-a-kind items or tickets.  As a another way to give, any EBay users can place their own auction items on their personal account sites and indicate that a portion or all of the proceeds of their auctioned item be given to MHCO.  For more information on giving through your auctioned item visit the EBay, Mission Fish webpage.  Non-profits, like MHCO, can utilize EBay’s Giving Works free of charge, helping generating much needed donations, while minimizing costs.

To top last year’s participation and its total of $2,500 please visit our auction site by clicking on the “2010 MHCO Charity Auction” button on our home page at www.mhc-oxford.org or here by visiting EBay and our auction site, clicking on the banner below.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR 3RD ANNUAL ON-LINE AUCTION

For questions or more information call 1-888-505-4357 or email MHCO at tgilreath@mhc-oxford.org.  Auction ends November 1, 2010.

3RD ANNUAL MHCO BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON-LINE AUCTION – GENERAL AUCTION ITEM LIST  DUKE MEN’S BASKETBALL TICKETS – CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM – GAME TBA (FOUR TICKETS)  ARIZONA CARDINALS VS. CAROLINA PANTHERS – DECEMBER 19, 2010 – THREE TICKETS WITH PARKING PASS EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY VS. UNC-CH – OCTOBER 2, 2010  - TIME TBA DURHAM BULLS – FOUR BOX SEATS FOR FOUR FINAL HOME GAMES  NASCAR MERCHANDISE  THOMAS KINKADE – FRAMED AND NUMBERED LIMITED EDITION PRINT  LIMITED EDITION MASONIC MEMORIBILIA COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL SPORTS MEMORIBILIA COLLECTIBLE ANTIQUE COINS STAR WARDS COLLECTIBLE ITEM  MORE ITEMS TO BE ADDED . . . CHECK BACK OFTEN!

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5^th Anniversary Year of Cobb Center at Dunn Cottage Starts Celebration with Limited Edition Christmas Ornament

In honor of its 5^th Anniversary as The Cobb Center at Dunn Cottage, The Masonic Home for Children has commissioned the fourth in a series of Christmas ornaments for the holidays in 2010.  This year’s ornament features the Cobb Center at Dunn Cottage, which houses the archives and museum of North Carolina’s oldest home for children, as well as meeting centers and the finance department of MHCO.  Dedicated in October 2005, the Cobb Center proudly stands today thanks to the vision of alumnus Bill Cobb (54’), his wife Rhoda, and their family Foundation, The Cobb Foundation, which financed the renovation of the Center, as well as the recently completed historical documentary “One Thousand Brothers and Sisters”. The gold-flashed, brass ornament pictures a silhouette of the Cobb Center and includes a brief history on the building and its renovation in 2005.  Ornaments will go on sale September 30, 2010 and will cost $10, plus shipping.  After cost proceeds from their sale benefit The Cobb Center at Dunn Cottage Archives and Museum operational budget.  Only 400 ornaments will be available.  Orders can be placed by phone, email, or purchased at Grand Lodge Session in September or at the Cobb Center at Dunn Cottage Gift Shop. For more information email Tina Gilreath at tgilreath@mhc-oxford.org or call the Cobb Center at Dunn Cottage at 1-919-603-3906.

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Helping the Children During the Holidays – A Quick Guide to Planning for Year- End Giving and Activities
Homecoming, Happenings, Holidays, and Ways You Can Help

For the Masonic Home for Children - holiday planning starts September 1st – and our kids and our Home couldn’t be more excited.  Many donors and friends of the Home have already contacted us to secure dates for cookouts and holiday activities, donate items from the needs list or confirm activities and events already on the schedule, during this busy and wonderful time of the year. A quick look at the items below will help you – our friends and donors – change a child’s life during the holidays.  Please refer to this list when preparing to give to MHCO this time of year.

• Come and be a part of the annual Homecoming celebration at MHCO - by visiting the alumni website at www.oxfordorphanagealumni.com/ - for this wonderful fall tradition.  View the schedule of events or sign-up for the charity golf tournament to be held on Friday, October 8, 2010 - - which raises money to support the Home and the Oxford Orphanage Alumni Endowment.  Visit www.oxfordorphanagealumni.com/Chipshots.html for tournament details.
  

• Fall means cookouts and fundraisers, including numerous charity rides, golf tournaments, and food sales, as well as our annual Fall Family Festival Day.  These wonderful events bring donors to our Home and generate some of the greatest gifts for the lives of our children.  Halloween dances, our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon and annual Christmas donor dinner are just a few of the many wonderful activities that make our Home a great place for a child during this time of year and all year long.  View our Events Schedule and the donors contributing to our Home by visiting www.mhc-oxford.org/news.html throughout the holiday season.
  

• If you, your employees, civic group, church, or  would like to contribute to the life of a child through a donation or in-kind gift, visit our Needs List daily throughout the holidays at http://www.mhc-oxford.org/needslist.html.  Helping a child can be done in so many ways and not just at Christmas.  Halloween, Back to School or for the winter months are extremely important times in the life of a child, when donor support is needed desperately.  Call Chris at 919-603-3901 or email him at crichards@mhc-oxford.org to find out how you can help.
  

• The end of the year is one of the most important times for our Home regarding donations.  Sixty to eighty percent (60 to 80%) of all annual donations are received in the last quarter of the year.  MHCO’s annual calendar solicitation campaign helps generate money during the period and will feature scenes from the new gallery at the Cobb Center, when mailed in November.  For a copy of this year’s calendar please contact the Home at 919-603-3906 or email us at crichards@mhc-oxford.org
  

• Regarding donations, to receive credit for your generous and kind gift in 2010, donations must be received by the Home, before midnight, December 31, 2010. 

We appreciate so much all those friends who wish to contribute to the life of a child, at Christmas, the fall holidays, and throughout the year.  The many different ways you give add to their lives and futures and help us care for them, meeting all their needs.  We appreciate the understanding of every donor during this season as this is our busiest time of the year.  Thank you for making every child’s gift special and for your help throughout the year – changing the life of a child.

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Charity Rides Once Again Set to Visit, Benefit Home

The Masonic Home for Children at Oxford will once again welcome the bikers of the 13^th Annual Eureka Masonic Lodge Charity Ride, September 11, 2010.  On that same day, 400 miles away the Masons of Western Carolina will host their own charity ride for a 10^th year honoring the life and legacy of Brother Calvin Taylor with the Calvin Taylor Memorial Ride through Maggie Valley.  A new group of friends will visit the campus as the Triangle Victory Riders of Raleigh, North Carolina visit campus October 16, 2010 for their first ever Halloween Ride to the Home.

Charity motorcycle rides continue to gain popularity, generating thousands of dollars in charitable donations.  Most include a meal and t-shirt and all are a great time for their participants and for the charities that benefit from them, including our Masonic Home for Children.  To found out more about these rides and how they help our Home and how you can be a part of them in 2010, please contact the following:

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Little Miss Auction of King Richard’s Hat Involves Masonic Uncle

In the small town of Lowell, NC a special event called the Freedom Festival took place on June 4th and 5th! Although this event is full of rides, food, jewelry vendors, and other special things to play and buy this year there was also an awesome cause involved as well and that was The Masonic Children's Home.  Victoria VanDyke, Miss NC Majestic Queen who's platform is to raise money for the Masonic Children's Home had the idea of hosting a womanless beauty pageant at the festival as well as selling raffle tickets for $1 to win a Richard Petty autographed hat, that’s where Mike Deal came in.  Mike also known as "Tater Swift" that week was walking around on both Friday and Saturday dressed completely as a woman, on Friday Tater collected money in swim wear and Saturday in evening gown.  Mike, a resident of Lowell and member of the Lowell Masonic Lodge #590, said that "this was something I just had to do, my niece Victoria is very involved with this great organization and I wanted to be too."  Mike had a goal of reaching $1,000 to give to the children, and Victoria promised to crown this "beautiful woman" if he raised that much money!  Tater was so proud when Victoria announced at the end of the festival that he had not only raised $1,000 he had raised $1,405!  Tater and Victoria were super proud of the money that they had raised!  Victoria is so excited to see how much money she can raise by the end of her reign in July and wants to thank everyone who has ever helped with the Masonic Home; you are truly making a difference! 

The Little Miss Program has awarded over $100,000 for MHCO in its ten-years of charitable fundraising by the Queens and their families.  In July of this year, the 2009-2010 court added to that total with a donation $16,443.70.  We congratulate this year’s court on a great year and thank them and their families for their support of our Home and our children.

“Tater Swift,” Tater joins Victoria VanDyke, Miss NC Majestic Queen to collect donations for The Masonic Children’s Home and in doing so won the crown, sash and the title of Masonic Freedom Festival Queen 2010! The “Queen” and Victoria raised over $1,400 in two days!

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More Special Gifts for The Children, From our Home Friends and Supporters

13^th Birthday Generates Donation for Kids

Alley Paulson, Daughter of Masonic member Rodney Paulson and his wife Nikki, made the trip to St. John’s Day to visit and to present a very special donation.  Rather than receiving presents for her 13^th birthday, Alley asked her party guests to bring new pairs of shoes and flip flops to be delivered to the children of MHCO on St. John’s Day.  Thirty-three pairs of shoes and fifteen pairs of flip-flops were delivered with care by Alley and her family, as part of this year’s St. John’s Day celebration  The Home and the Masons of her father’s Home Lodge, Fairview No. 339, send there thanks in recognizing Alley for her extremely charitable work for the children.

21^st Annual Fellowship No. 687 Golf Tournament Continues Legacy of Charity

With over $150,000 worth of donations given over twenty-one years, the Masons of Fellowship Masonic Lodge No. 687 can lay claim to one of the longest running and most successful charity golf tournaments for MHCO in the state.  For one day in May each year these Masons and their families gather near Timberlake, NC to host two flights of golfers, including lunch and dinner, all to benefit the children of The Masonic Home for Children.  We thank these Masons and their families for this generous gift and for donating their time and care in continuing this tournament for over twenty years, through tough times and difficult economies, all to provide for our kids.  Pictured are Worshipful Master Charles Pless (center) and tournament emcee Mark Stephens (right) presenting this year’s check