2023 Community Impact Report

Outreach, donations and support

Masonic Villages

As part of our Mission of Love, Masonic Villages extends services to neighboring communities and individuals of all ages.

The Masonic Villages proudly provided $40 million worth of charitable care and services across Pennsylvania in 2023. This amount consists of approximately $12.2 million (at cost) of free care and services and $27.8 million (at cost) for care and services above the amount reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party payers.

In addition, Masonic Villages provided more than $417,595 in scholarships, donations to local emergency services providers, internships and community assistance to our neighbors in Dallas, Elizabethtown, Lafayette Hill, Sewickley and Warminster.

As a nonprofit organization, and as part of our Mission of Love, Masonic Villages extends services to surrounding communities and individuals of all ages. Efforts focused on supporting local businesses, nonprofits and economic development; educating and engaging students and children; assisting those in need; sharing cultural experiences; and encouraging our residents’ participation in community projects and service.

Community Engagement & Support

Prodigy Learning Center students visit with residents

Elizabethtown Rotary Mother's Day 5K

“We are eternally grateful for this trusted partner. It is quite difficult to ‘talk about’ lifesaving techniques from the side of the pool and much easier to practice them from the water. Masonic Village staff and I have a wonderful friendship that I truly treasure.”

Frank D. Telenko, Jr., lifeguard trainer, Wildwood Swim Club

Masonic Villages works with other organizations to help fulfill needs in the community, some of which also benefit our residents.

Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill hosted the Prodigy Learning Center annual kindergarten graduation. Students from the center visit with residents throughout the year for intergenerational bonding.

For the ninth year, Masonic Village at Dallas collaborated with the physical therapy department at Misericordia University on a Balance & Fall Prevention Program. The program encourages good health, exercise and well-being, while giving students real-life field experience.

To benefit Elizabethtown Community Housing and Outreach Services (ECHOS), which runs a shelter for those with emergency living needs, Masonic Village at Elizabethtown’s environmental services department washed 3,615 pounds of sheets, blankets, comforters and towels free of charge, donating staff time valued at approximately $2,096.

In a partnership with Elizabethtown College, biology students have the opportunity to earn a 40-hour CNA certification, which includes classwork, direct interaction with residents and a competency test.

Masonic Village at Elizabethtown hosted the Elizabethtown Animal Hospital Fit Dog Walk, the Mother’s Day 5K (sponsored by the Elizabethtown Rotary Club) and the Biking for Brittany’s Hope 62-mile bike ride on campus. Community groups, including the Elizabethtown Rotary, Elizabethtown Area Chamber of Commerce, Elizabethtown Boy’s Club, Northwest EMS and others, used facilities on campus for meetings, trainings and programs. Masonic Village donated approximately $25,925 in space for this purpose in 2023.

Willowood Swim Club has worked in a partnership with Masonic Village at Elizabethtown for almost five years to use the indoor pool to train their lifeguards and swim lesson instructors and, in turn, shares lifeguards for summer and year-round employment at Masonic Village.

Providing a high quality childcare option for staff and the local community, the Sewickley YMCA child care center, located at Masonic Village at Sewickley, cared for 123 children from 91 different families in 2023. Approximately 17% of these children have parents who work at Masonic Village at Sewickley and the remaining 83% are from local neighborhoods. One of the great benefits of a child development center on campus is the intergenerational opportunities it provides, which included trick or treating and visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus last year.

Masonic Village at Sewickley landscape staff worked with Kate Steinfurth and her Sewickley Scout troop to complete the renovation of a large courtyard within the Star Points Building and help Kate earn her Eagle Scout. The project included the removal of most of the existing shrubs and trees, followed by the planting of trees, shrubs and flowers, and pressure washing the space. Kate is the first female Eagle Scout in Sewickley. Her efforts were recognized through a citation from State Representative Valerie Gaydos on Nov. 8.

Masonic Village at Sewickley intergenerational activities

(L-R): Kate’s father; Sen. Devlin Robinson; Kate Steinfurth; Rep. Valerie Gaydos; Kate’s mother; and Eric Gross, executive director, Masonic Village at Sewickley

“Growing up, I attended several Scout and school events at Masonic Village. I always liked being able to bring joy to the residents through music and service. I knew Masonic Village was very supportive of my brother and his Eagle Scout project, so I thought I’d reach out to see if there was anything I could take on for my own Eagle Scout project.” 

Kate Steinfurth, Eagle Scout

Business & Economic Support

As a nonprofit organization, Masonic Villages is not required to pay real estate taxes; however, we value municipalities’ services and understand their plights, as costs impact local taxes. Through Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements signed in Dallas, Elizabethtown, Lafayette Hill and Sewickley, we paid $2,448,704 to local boroughs, townships, counties and school districts in 2023.

Supporting the local economy is also a priority. Through contracts with 334 businesses in the Dallas, Elizabethtown, Lafayette Hill and Sewickley areas, Masonic Villages purchased approximately $6.1 million of products and services.

As part of advocacy efforts on behalf of all not-for-profit senior living organizations, on March 1, LeadingAge PA joined Senator Judy Ward and Representative DeLissio for a news conference at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg to highlight their recent report on the Medicaid funding shortfall and how it is impacting long-term care facilities across the state. Masonic Villages CEO Bill Kingsbury spoke on the personal and emotional impact the lack of funding has on our organization across the state.

The Culinary Arts Center in Elizabethtown partnered with the Farm and Land Management team to purchase a steer from the Elizabethtown Fair in support of the youth program. The beef was served throughout the campus.

Sustainability

For the past 17 years, Masonic Villages has been implementing a comprehensive sustainability plan, including renewable energy projects, energy auditing, materials and indoor air quality, social responsibility and more than 80 individual efficiency projects. Eco-friendly operations and initiatives are an important investment in our community’s and planet’s future, whether it’s restoring a portion of the Conoy Creek, utilizing solar power or protecting soil and water resources while operating a beef cattle and farm enterprise. From 2008-2016, Masonic Villages reduced total energy use by 20%.

Donations

Masonic Village Walk to End Alzheimer’s team

Elizabethtown Area High School volunteer scholarship recipients (l-r): Keara Fahnestock, Kylie Mummau, Lily Heistand and Ella Bryant with Nessie Denton, volunteer and life enrichment coordinator

Masonic Villages supports other charitable organizations whenever possible. We contributed $61,793 to fire and EMS companies, libraries, ministries and other causes in 2023. Efforts also included:

  • Donations of clothing and books to Salvation Army, United Churches of Elizabethtown, libraries and other local thrift stores, and collections of food items for local food banks. In Warminster, residents and staff collected boxes of essential items for A Woman’s Place shelter for women escaping domestic violence and more than 150 pounds of food items for the Warminster Food Bank.
  • The Masonic Village Farm Market donated produce weekly to the Community Cupboard of Elizabethtown, East Donegal-Conoy Food Banks and the Elizabethtown First Church of God meal program. During their Photos with Santa events, the Farm Market accepted donations for Community Cupboard of Elizabethtown, raising $300.
  • Masonic Village Hospice raised $11,000 for the 2023 Relay for Life of Lancaster, benefiting the American Cancer Society, and they sponsored Caregiver Haven and Self-care activities during the event. Their team was also an Event Caregiver Sponsor for the Fire and Ice Legacy event.
  • Masonic Village’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s team raised $2,957 for the Alzheimer’s Association in 2023.
  • Masonic Village sponsored the entertainment for Senior Citizens Night at the Elizabethtown Fair, and the Masonic Village Farm Market handed out free apples.
  • Masonic Village donated the use of two shuttles for the Elizabethtown National Night Out. We also made donation deliveries to UNTO Global Logistics, which provides humanitarian aid and resources for those in need around the world.
  • Masonic Village partnered with Abraham C. Treichler Lodge No. 682 and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to support the Lancaster County Toys for Tots collection.
  • We contributed $15,000 to the Elizabethtown Area Education Foundation to help generate support for the foundation’s grant program to enhance learning experiences in the classroom and beyond. One of the current projects is to increase accessibility on outdoor play spaces at the Bear Creek School for the enjoyment of all students and the community.
  • At Masonic Villages’ Elizabethtown and Sewickley locations, we awarded $32,400 in scholarships to 13 graduating high school seniors and college students who volunteered at least 100 hours with us during their high school years.

(L-R): Andy Klose, health and physical education teacher, Bear Creek; Dr. Karen Nell, superintendent, Elizabethtown Area School District, and Education Foundation board member; Dr. John Berk, vice president, Masonic Village at Elizabethtown Resident Association; Mike Rowe, executive director, Masonic Village at Elizabethtown; Jacques Viau, principal, Bear Creek; and Joseph Murphy, president, Elizabethtown Area Education Foundation.

“We’re looking forward to the exterior of our school reflecting the culture that’s seen inside the building, which is students being inclusive of one another, no matter their abilities.”

Andy Klose, health and physical education teacher at Bear Creek

Educational Opportunities

Masonic Villages works with local schools and universities to welcome students seeking internships and job shadow experiences to enhance their formal education.

Across the state, interns joined us in the public relations and information technology departments.

In clinical settings, including the pharmacy, music therapy, recreation, social services and environmental services departments, staff supervised 58 students for an estimated 6,521 hours – time valued at approximately $40,602*.

*Based on national community benefits reporting standards, 20% of staff time overseeing students in a clinical setting may be quantified as a community benefit.

Included in the values above, students from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Community College of Beaver County and La Salle University School of Nursing completed public health clinicals with Masonic Villages.

For several years, Masonic Village at Elizabethtown has teamed up with Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13) to offer students internships and real-world job experiences in environmental services and other fields through the Work Immersion Program. We hosted nine students in 2023.

Masonic Village at Elizabethtown’s food services department has partnered with Lancaster Career and Technology Center’s Mount Joy campus since 2015 to provide internships for the culinary arts degrees. The department also has partnerships with the Culinary Institute of America and Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Two Quaker Valley High School students partnered with the newly formed Resident Technology Advisory Council at the Masonic Village at Sewickley to hold weekend technology help sessions twice a month.

“Mentors get to have a first-hand account in helping interns take that difficult step towards adult life and really have an influence in making a positive impact that helps contribute to growth.”

Ally Devine, IU13 work immersion program instructor

Seth was a student intern with the Masonic Health Care Center Laundry Department, and he was encouraged to apply for a laundry aide position at Masonic Village. Following the interview, he was offered the job and now works full-time in the Laundry Department.

“I have definitely learned a lot. The workplace environment seems really steady here. I like working with the people here and using the equipment.” 

Outreach & Home Assistance

Community members at any stage of life can find assistance at Masonic Villages.

Funded through generous contributions, the Masonic Children’s Home in Elizabethtown does not charge individuals, organizations or the state or federal government for its services. It provides a home for up to 40 youth who are being raised by aging grandparents or who come from various social or economic environments which do not provide necessary security and support. Children do not need to have a Masonic affiliation in their family to be eligible for services. In 2023, the Elizabethtown Area School District received $454,536 through reciprocity agreements with the school districts from which the children come to us.

Masonic Village’s Outreach Program distributed $13,632 in home assistance support to individuals and families. The program also operates a Durable Medical Loan Equipment Closet, which provides equipment to families on a short-term basis at no cost. We supplied wheelchairs, walkers, canes, shower chairs and other equipment to 10 individuals in 2023.

Last year, in Elizabethtown, an average of nine individuals, including community members and Masonic Village residents, participated in the monthly Dementia Caregiver Support & Education Group. The Bereavement Support Group served 263 family members during meetings held in Elizabethtown, Mount Joy and Lancaster. Masonic Village contributed approximately $6,057, including 141 hours of staff time, materials and classroom space, toward these support groups.

Masonic Children's Home residents on the first day of school

Resident Contributions

Masonic Village at Dallas residents and community volunteers took part in an Adopt a Road project.

Masonic Village at Sewickley Woodworking Group make a donation to the Shriners Hospitals for Children

Team MVS

Grey Lions Scholarship recipients Ella Bryant, Joy Ngafua and Mya Grove (not shown: Marianna Smith)

Residents make blankets for Project Linus

Many of Masonic Villages’ residents are active in the community. Last year, residents contributed to service projects that benefited children, students, older adults, emergency service providers and those with food and housing insecurities.

Masonic Village at Dallas residents participated in an Adopt a Road project to help clean up nearby Country Club Road and contributed money and dry goods donations for the Back Mountain Food Pantry, which serves over 1,100 clients in the local community. The Resident Social Committee collected money and donated goods to fund gift bags for 100+ residents at the Meadows Nursing Home during the holidays. Residents volunteer quarterly for Habitat for Humanity by providing meals for the volunteer construction workers building homes in Luzerne County.

As “Team MVS,” Masonic Village at Sewickley residents and staff raised over $21,000 for breast cancer research as part of their participation in the 2023 Susan G. Komen West Pennsylvania “More Than Pink” walk. Resident Edie Yeager was the top individual fundraiser in Pennsylvania, while Team MVS was the top group fundraiser.

Sustainability has become a focus of many residents in Sewickley. The Plarn (plastic yarn) group spend countless hours every year making mats out of used plastic bags for the New Life Community Church in Pittsburgh, which donates them to homeless shelters. The Committee for Sustainable Living is working on efforts to reduce plastic use and increase recycling, among other initiatives.

Residents in Sewickley raised over $126,487 for the Dining Services scholarship program and awarded $4,200 scholarships to 16 students working as dining room servers in 2023. To qualify, servers must have worked at least 312 hours, submitted a short essay and application and already be attending or accepted to college. The additional funds collected will be used for 2024 scholarships.

Through the sales of handmade floral arrangements, jewelry, blankets, cards, gift bags and more, the Craft Group at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown raises money to support others, including local fire and emergency services. The Retirement Living Residents’ Association gave $1,000 to Northwest EMS and $1,000 to the Community Cupboard of Elizabethtown.

The Grey Lions of Elizabethtown, Masonic Village’s Penn State alumni interest group, awarded four $1,000 scholarships in 2023 to deserving Penn State students.

Knitting and sewing blankets keeps residents busy while contributing to their local communities. Residents in Elizabethtown and Sewickley meet throughout the year to make blankets and give them to Project Linus, a national nonprofit organization which donates them to hospitals (including the Shriners Hospitals for Children), shelters, social service agencies or anywhere a need arises. In Elizabethtown, residents donate an average of 100 blankets.

Residents of the Bleiler Caring Cottage participated in several community service projects, including packing and handing out food to children in need in Hershey though Cocoa Packs, repacking food for local food pantries through Midwest Food Bank, writing thank you cards to veterans who work and live on campus, setting up and taking down flags on campus for Veterans Day and helping clean up around the Elizabethtown train station, park and Elizabethtown College campus.

Sell Chapel

Through the Congregation of Sell Chapel’s Community Outreach ministry, members donated $43,621 in offerings toward Elizabethtown Community Housing and Outreach Services (ECHOS), The Children’s Playroom of Lancaster, Hope Within,  Communities That Care, Naaman Center and Cornerstone Youth Center. Members of the congregation volunteered with ECHOS and the winter shelter, The Children’s Playroom and other programs in Lancaster County.

Staff Contributions

(L-R): Brooke Zubeck, home health social work outreach coordinator (right), with Dr. Tina Brown, supervisor (center), and Amy Roth, social worker (left), both of Early Childhood and Special Education Services at IU13.

The Home Health Department sponsored a Mitten Tree to support Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13). Each of the 20 mitten ornaments had a few wish list items for a child, ranging from clothes to diapers to educational toys. The Finance Department adopted a Jeans for Charity fundraiser whereby staff give $5 donation to wear jeans on Mondays throughout the month. Fundraising started in the month of July and ended with more than $1,700 of donations for: Keystone Pet Rescue, Lancaster County Field of Hope, Midwest Food Bank, Milagro House, Olivia’s House and Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development. The Home Health and Finance Departments also donated items for the local emergency shelter operated by ECHOS.

Masonic Village Pharmacy staff volunteered for Bingo night at two local community centers, Whistlestop View and Market House in Elizabethtown.

Masonic Village at Warminster activities staff prepared 40 meals given to the Caring for Friends program through Nativity of Our Lord Church.

Beyond regular office hours, many staff are active leaders in professional associations where they share their expertise while gaining knowledge and connections to enhance their work at Masonic Village. Staff serve on:

Staff also commit their time as volunteers with local churches, emergency service providers and other not-for-profit organizations, including:

Community Benefits Financial Summary

The Masonic Villages proudly provided $40 million of charitable care and services across Pennsylvania in 2023. This amount consists of approximately $12.2 million (at cost) of free care and services and $27.8 million (at cost) for care and services above the amount reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party payers.

In addition, Masonic Villages provided more than $417,595 in scholarships, donations to local emergency services providers, internships and community assistance to our neighbors in Dallas, Elizabethtown, Lafayette Hill, Sewickley and Warminster.