Modern Woodmen of America recently announced that residents and organizations in northwestern Illinois, southeastern and eastern Iowa received $333,697 in fraternal assistance from Modern Woodmen members in 2008. These dollars support the fraternal organization's social and volunteer activities for local members and their communities.
"Local members continue to make a difference in their communities," says Regional Director Thomas J. Hosmanek. "Modern Woodmen members do more than donate money - they also contribute their own time to local projects they believe in."
Modern Woodmen members in these areas are organized into 69 local chapters called camps and 27 youth service clubs. Through the organization's various volunteer programs, camp and youth club members conduct service projects to meet the needs of their own communities.
In 2008 alone, area Modern Woodmen members contributed 20,927 volunteer service hours to their communities.
Examples of ways Modern Woodmen members can help the community include collecting canned goods to donate to a local food bank, landscaping a local school or raising money for a resident in need.
Additionally, Modern Woodmen representatives donated 390 free Youth Educational Programs to area schools and youth organizations. These programs reached 27,914 local children and provided them with information about safety, citizenship, creativity and confidence. Youth Educational Programs are free community education resources.
The six current programs donated by Modern Woodmen are:
- Ecology Awareness
- Patriotic Civics
- Fall Fest
- School Speech Contest
- Exercise and Nutrition
- Safety and Life Skills
"There is more than one way to give back," says Hosmanek. "From activities to education to volunteering, Modern Woodmen and its members were able to touch many lives in 2008."
As a fraternal benefit society, Modern Woodmen sells life insurance, annuity and investment products not to benefit stockholders, but to improve the quality of life of its stakeholders - members, their families and their communities. This is done through social, charitable and volunteer activities. In 2008, more than $23.8 million* and 1.3 million volunteer hours were contributed nationwide for local community projects.
For more information about how Modern Woodmen touches lives in northwestern Illinois, southeastern and eastern Iowa, contact Hosmanek at 563-386-8600, or visit www.modern-woodmen.org.
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