COLORADO HIKE CHOIR PERFORMANCE EARNS DONATION
AND INTEREST IN JOB’S DAUGHTERS

 Submitted by Marylyn Hepp, PGG CO

The HIKE Choir of Colorado has performed for many years for the patients at the Children’s' Hospital. The Consistory hosts the party on the first Saturday of December and a wonderful continental breakfast is served.  The children at the hospital get to see Santa and receive a gift from him and the HIKE Choir performs three different 25 minute programs. Some of the young patients understand sign language and they are able to go up on the stage and do the signing with the HIKE Choir.

This year, a gentleman from Sterling, Colorado, who attended the hospital performance, was very interested in HIKE and the benefits it has for many young people.  Although there are no Masonic youth organizations near Sterling, this man wanted to promote interest in these organizations to hopefully begin a Bethel at his Lodge.  He invited the HIKE Choir to his Lodge meeting and offered a $50 donation toward HIKE for each Daughter who performed at the meeting.  With the help of their supportive parents and a PHQ, thirteen members of the HIKE Choir made the 260 mile round trip journey to attend the meeting.  They reported that they enjoyed the best Masonic dinner they have ever had and the girls performed fantastically. Through their dedication and enthusiasm, they earned $700 for the HIKE Fund. 

MARYLAND HIKE PRESENTATION

Submitted by Roberta Ridenour, PHQ, PGG
Maryland State HIKE Coordinator

 Bethels #22 of Elkridge, and #16 of Glen Burnie, Maryland, made a HIKE presentation on Saturday, November 21^st following their Official Visitation, to 8 year-old Edward Scheuerman.  He was accompanied by his mother, father, and sister.  A member of Bethel #22, who is studying sign language in her first year of college, interpreted the presentation.  The Honored Queen explained Job’s Daughters and the HIKE Fund to the family.  Then, the family was escorted to the East and the Honored Queen of Bethel #22 (the home Bethel) made the presentation, which included a large mock check and a goodie bag with a HIKE bear, HIKE pin and other miscellany, furnished by our Maryland HIKE Adult Chairman, Mom Roberta Ridenour.  This award will allow Edward to receive one of his hearing aids.  The family is awaiting a second appeal to insurance for assistance in purchasing an aid for the other ear.  After the presentation and picture taking, the family joined our Maryland Job’s Daughter family for a very nice lunch.  The family seemed very pleased to join us.

MD Thank you

Local Girls Deliver for Statewide Charity   

Submitted by Rhoda Pilarcik, GG PA

At a recent gathering of the Pennsylvania International Order of Job’s Daughters, two local girls presented their contribution to the Hearing Impaired Kids’ Endowment (HIKE), the Order’s charity that provides hearing aids and other devices to hearing impaired children all over the world. 

Rachel and Rebecca Rauschenberger, ages 9 and 10, the daughters of Curt and Joyce Rauschenberger of Butler, opened a lemonade stand this past summer with all the proceeds going towards HIKE Both girls are members of the local Job’s Daughters Bethel, Bethel No. 21. Their efforts were featured in the July 9, 2009 issue of this newspaper. “As I always say it is easier to give money than time and these girls did a wonderful job in giving their time to create something that had a great success story to it," said Rhonda Pilarcik, Grand Guardian of Pennsylvania Job’s Daughters, of Butler. 

At a western themed banquet held this past weekend in Elizabethtown, Pa., the girls shared their entrepreneur experience and presented a check in the amount of $337.55, the gross sales from their lemonade stand to Miss Renee Daniels, Miss Congeniality of Pa and Daughter HIKE Coordinator, and Mr. Douglas Harms, Grand Associate Bethel Guardian. “For 20 years, the Job's Daughters of PA have been able support our philanthropic project of HIKE,” said Harms. “It is a joy to be able to provide children with the means to be able to hear sounds and enjoy a better quality of life. With young women like the Job's Daughters working on charitable projects, we aren't only raising funds for our charity - but providing a way for our youth of today to become the philanthropists of tomorrow. Rebecca and Rachel are true examples of what our youth are able to do with just a little creativity and community support.” 

The Rauschenberger girls have been members of the Jobie To Be pledge group of Job’s Daughters since the Butler Bethel’s institution four years ago. The pledge group is for girls who are not yet old enough to join Job’s Daughters. “I was really nervous about talking in the microphone to the two hundred people from all over the state at the dinner, but we had a lot of fun running our lemonade stand and I wanted to tell them about it,” said Rachel Rauschenberger. The girls estimate that about a third of this amount was raised in actual drink sales while the balance came from outright donations. “After we were in the newspaper, there were a lot of people who paid for their lemonade with twenty dollar bills and did not want change back, or just gave us money and didn’t want a glass of lemonade at all. That was really nice of them to donate like that. Thank you Butler!” said Rebecca, who just joined the Bethel this week. 

In addition to the lemonade sales, the girls also brought with them other donations. The Circle of Swords Gaming Guild, a Butler based role-playing gaming group and which the Rauschenbergers are heavily involved with, chose HIKE to benefit from their fall SIBCON Gaming Convention’s charity events. The gaming group’s donation was $1,453.00. 

With other private donations collected by the girls, in total they contributed $2,000.00 towards the state HIKE fund. This contribution is roughly a third of the total amount raised by all Job’s Daughters across the state. Elaine Gray, the International Order of Job’s Daughters’ Supreme Guardian, who originates from Queensland, Australia, was also in attendance of the weekend’s HIKE walk and festivities. “It is wonderful to see two young girls so willing to help those less fortunate than themselves. I was amazed and delighted at how creative and resourceful the girls were in raising money for HIKE. The total of $2000 raised is a huge amount and will assist children with hearing problems. They are truly an inspirational pair. They will become the youngest members of Job's Daughters to join the 1000 club.

Thank you from Connecticut

Submitted by Janice A. Howard, M.A., CCC-A 
Hearing, Balance & Speech Center

 Dear HIKE Fund Committee; 

Thank you very much for awarding Kylie Johnson the financial support for her binaural hearing aids.  The Johnson family is extremely overwhelmed with your generosity.  Kylie was recently awarded her hearing aids just in time for the start of this new academic year.  When the hearing aids were first placed into Kylie’s ear she was delighted that she could hear so many different things.  Kylie has returned for one follow up appointment since receiving her hearing aids and she states that she is hearing much better in the classroom.  She looks forward to putting her hearing aids in on a daily basis.  She is very self-sufficient and is able to put them in on her own and is also helpful in the maintenance and changing the batteries.  I wish you could see the difference you have made in this child’s life. 

Once again, thank you for your continued support for hearing impaired students.  You certainly do make a difference!

THANK YOU FROM TENNESSEE

Submitted by Mary Anne, Daniel and Gracie E. Williams

October 4, 2009

Dear IOJD Members and HIKE Board Members;

Gracie was so excited to receive her new FM System this summer as presented by her Vanderbilt Audiologist, Margaret McRedmond.  You have given Gracie this wonderful opportunity to continue to grow in her vocabulary and communication skills, enhancing the quality of her life!

For all of your efforts on Gracie’s behalf, we thank you.
For the gift of her enhanced hearing, we thank you.
For her ability to have stronger communication skills in a hearing world, we thank you.           
For updated technology, we thank you.
For relieving our family of the financial strain of new equipment, we thank you.
For blessing Gracie with her new FM system, we thank you.

 Your fundraising efforts are amazing and your commitment and dedication to hearing impaired kids is phenomenal.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Mary Anne Williams, Mr. Daniel L. Williams, and Gracie E. Williams

DMI Designs HIKE FLAG

The HIKE Board is pleased to announce that HIKE Flags are now available that could be displayed at Supreme, Grand or Bethels.  This features a 6 color imprint on a 3' x 5' white nylon flag, and is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO & ORDER FORM

Lincoln Truman Hike 2009

Submitted by Donna Goede, PGG-MO, Eastern HIKE Coordinator

 On Saturday September 19 the jurisdictions of Illinois and Missouri came together to raise funds for HIKE. They met on a beautiful fall day at Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, Illinois.  The girls from each state did a great job collecting funds. The State Master Councilor of Illinois DeMolay led the group on a HIKE, up a very steep hill, but to a beautiful overlook to see the Mississippi River from high up!  When all had successfully returned from the HIKE it was announced that over $5000 had been raised. The top daughter to collect was Brooklyn from Bethel #12 in St. Louis, MO who collected $601.23!  Awards were presented to top collecting Bethels and individuals and all were congratulated on their great effort. Then Illinois provided a wonderful lunch, which garnered even more in donations for the charity.

INDIANA 

 PRESENTATION

Submitted by Sally Reynolds, PHQ #2, PBG #54

          A wonderful thing happened on our way to Indiana’s Grand Session...the Northwest Indiana Bethels were contacted by the Indiana HIKE chairman to present a HIKE check to a 7 year-old boy who lived in Walkerton, in North central Indiana.  Trying to arrange for them to come to us or for us to go where they were was complicated with the end of school, graduations, work, etc.  When it looked like we were just going to have to mail the check, we realized that to travel to Grand Session we had to go through Plymouth, IN, and that was only 20 miles from the family and was 60 to 90 minutes from our Bethels.  Arrangements were made with the Masonic Lodge and as we traveled to Grand Session on Wednesday night, June 17^th, the presentation was made.

Peyton James (P.J.) Bailey, son of William and Pam Elkins of Walkerton, IN, was presented a check for $1616.00 to cover his hearing aids.  Bethel #54 Valparaiso girls Madison McKendry (SP), Beth Wright (1st Msgr), and Bethel #44 girls Mary Lamentola (PHQ), and Ginny Nugent (JP,) along with adults from both Bethels, gave a HIKE Ceremony for P.J. and his Mom.  P.J. was also given a Transformer, Transformer Movie & Transformer shirt from the girls and told that, as a Transformer can change, we hope that the hearing aids “transform” him and his family’s life.

Pam told us how P.J. was already being an Ambassador for others.  At his school another child came and had to wear two hearing aids and kept taking them out and hiding them.  P.J. went to him and told him not to be afraid and to think of them as he and his family called them, “HIS MAGIC EAR”.  Looking at the multi-colored mold they now use for these kids’ hearing aids it looked like fun. I’m sure that with Pam, a teacher, there will be many more times for P.J. to spread the word of what HIKE has done for him and I know their life is being transformed.           

The girls and adults continued driving another hour and arrived at Manchester College and 4 days of Session and felt honored to have presented this Gift to another lucky HIKE family.

Thank you from Alaska

Submitted by Jared, Michelle, Morgan, and Wetherleigh Griffin

HIKE Fund Family,

The words "thank you" are not enough to express our gratitude and
appreciation for the wonderful gift you have bestowed upon our
daughter.  Our daughter, Morgan is a recent recipient of funding from
the HIKE Fund.  We live in Kodiak, Alaska, which is an island off of
mainland Alaska where there is not a Job's Daughters chapter (to my
knowledge).  Therefore, the audiologist from Anchorage had the
privilege of giving Morgan her new digital hearing aids.  After almost
10 years with the same analog aids (from the time Morgan was an
infant), to see Morgan's face light up when her digital aids were
turned on was both overwhelming and heart-warming.  Not only did she
give us a beautiful grin, but the smile and joy we could see in her
eyes was unparalleled.  A million times thank you for being a blessing
in our family's life.

Blessings,
Jared, Michelle, Morgan, and Wetherleigh Griffin

The Gift of Hearing Presentation in Missouri

Submitted by Donna Goede, PGG-MO, Eastern HIKE Coordinator

 The Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment Fund, Inc. (HIKE) is the official philanthropic project for Job’s Daughters International. The members age 10-20 raise funds through various means, but mostly Hikes to present needed hearing aids and educational tools for the hearing impaired to needy children throughout the world.

 On Saturday, August 29 Missouri’s HIKE committee, along with the Missouri state leaders: Grand Bethel Honored Queen, Grand Guardian and Associate Grand Guardian were on hand to present 12 year old Christopher Noe and his family with the funds needed to get hearing aids. Christopher is a seventh grade student at St. Joseph’s Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis County, Missouri. The Missouri Eastern Regional HIKE Co-ordinator, Donna Goede and the State Daughter HIKE Coordinator, Caitlin Burress made the presentation with the help of other members of the committee, and GBHQ Jen Hallahan. Grand Guardian Joleyne Nelson and Associate Grand Guardian Butch Carpenter presented Christopher with their HIKE Fund Raising Pin. Christopher was accompanied by his parents, Mr. and Mrs Douglas Noe, his  younger sister and grandmother.   The event also included presentations to two of the HIKE committee members—Brooklyn Childs and Caitlin Burress. Each of these girls had earned the $1000 Club medallions this past year but were unable to be present at Supreme Session to receive their awards. Mom Donna Goede made the presentation to each one!  It should be noted that this was ten year old, Brooklyn’s third $1000 award and this time she had actually raised over $2000!  HIKE board member and Past Associate Supreme Guardian Dr. Albert Howe was also present and gave important facts on how many awards and how much money has been raised for HIKE in the past 24 years. Following the presentations Bethel #4 of Creve Couer, Missouri held their Official Visit meeting. It was the first official visit for this term. A great crowd was present for the presentations.