MARCH 1, 2001   Mt. Hope Elementary School

Lt. Governor and Masons Kick-Off 
Reading Month by Announcing Largest Volunteer 
Gift in State History to Michigan Schools

LANSING - Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus and the Michigan Masons today announced a pledge of 200,000 volunteer hours over the next three years to help elementary schools in the state improve student achievement. This is the largest single volunteer commitment of its kind in Michigan history.

Under the terms of the gift, the more than 58,000 Michigan Masons will volunteer in elementary schools located near their 374 Masonic Lodges by assisting with school projects or performing other volunteer tasks under the direction of each school's principal.

In accepting the commitment, Lt. Governor Posthumus said, "Today we kick-off the celebration of reading month in Michigan schools, and I can think of no better way do to that than with the gift of 200,000 volunteer hours to help our students with reading. On behalf of Michigan students and schools, I am pleased to accept this historic gift. The time spent by Masonic volunteers will make a extraordinary difference for thousands of students and elementary schools throughout the state. As important, the Masonic commitment is a clear demonstration of the type of partnership that is possible when increasing school and student achievement becomes a priority."

In presenting the gift, Robert Conley said, "It's long been a dream of mine that Masons in Michigan could make a meaningful contribution to the children in this state in ways beside financial support to our community schools. The fact that we have a Masonic Lodge in more than 370 communities in every corner of this state makes this an ideal gift of our member resources and a clear demonstration of the type of impact an organization as large as ours can

have." Conley added, "Whether it's helping a school by reading to children, or working under a structured initiative to improve reading scores, or helping rebuild a school playground, we promise Michigan schools a new resource they can call upon when needed."

This commitment is part of the Michigan Department of Education's Alliance for Children's Education (ACE). ACE was started in 1996 to encourage organization membership and corporate employees to give of their time to help students at risk of reading failure. Today, more than 2,000 individuals from corporations like GM, Daimler Chrysler, Steelcase, Kmart and Whirlpool provide nearly 100,000 hours of combined assistance annually to students in schools with volunteer based reading programs.

Mt. Hope Elementary, the site of today's announcement, is a recent recipient of the Michigan Department of Education's new All Student's Achieve Program, Literacy Achievement Program (ASAP-LAP) grant. With this grant, Mt. Hope will implement the highly successful HOSTS (Helping One Student to Succeed) volunteer based reading program. Students in Michigan HOSTS programs last year gained on average 2 years of reading achievement.

"The Lansing School District and Board of Education is extremely grate fill that the Michigan Masons would devote so much time for the children in Lansing and across the state," Lansing School District Superintendent Dr. E. Sharon Banks said. "No gift is more precious than the gift of time, and our students will benefit greatly from the attention of these generous volunteers. The success of the HOSTS program has demonstrated just how much the dedication of community members can impact student achievement."