By Brother John Pettigrew, D12 District Representative
A very joyful event was held on December 10 at the United States Marine Corps Reserve Center in Milwaukee. Brethren, family & friends from the Southeast Wisconsin area gathered along with representatives from Grand Lodge and the District 12 Leadership Team to donate over 2000 toys to Toys-for-Tots.
In its third year, the James M. Hays Freemasons Lodge No. 331 sponsored, District 12 “Toys for Tots Donation Challenge” is a rousing success and is helping more children and families in the area every year. Started in 2023, it was a Lodge only event raising $3000. In 2024 it became a District challenge, raising over $19,000. This year, donations exceeded $35,000 – and are still coming in!
Brother Karl Cleppe, Senior Warden of James M. Hays Lodge, has spear-headed this endeavor and is the driving force behind it, spending countless hours to ensure its success. This initiative begins in late August by traveling to all District 12 Lodges, several other Lodges in the area, Kilbourn Chapter #1 R.A.M., the Wisconsin Scottish Rite Foundation, and local businesses. Presentations are made by Brother Cleppe and others from Hays explaining and promoting the challenge.
Lodges participate by contributing toys and monetary donations over the next several weeks. All Brothers are invited to participate in three toy buy events which are scheduled at Fleet Farm in Germantown, culminating with the final donation occurring in early December. The Lodge with the largest donation earns the right to proudly display the traveling trophy for the year, receive a slightly smaller permanent trophy, and a meal of their choice cooked, prepared, and served by the Hays Boys.
Congratulations to Brothers of Damascus Lodge No. 290 for winning the challenge and will soon be enjoying smoked brisket prepared by Hays Master, Jim McGuigan.
During the purchase events, several curious shoppers inquired as to who we were and what we were doing. We informed them we are Freemasons buying toys to donate to Toys for Tots. They thanked us and some gave us personal donations to purchase even more toys.
At the final donation event, reporters from Fox 6, CBS 58, and TMJ 4, TV stations in Milwaukee, were present filming the event and interviewing Bro. Cleppe who made sure to inform them “It’s all about the kids.” These stories were widely broadcast throughout the area over the next two days along with videos posted on their websites.
This was a great day for the Fraternity, a great day for the community, and come Christmas morning, a special and happy day for the children. As Masons, we have shown ourselves to “Be the Good in the World“!
Fox 6 News story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glE4PFN-JWg
CBS 58 story (with video): https://cbs58.com/news/wisconsin-freemasons-collect-2-000-toys-for-families-across-the-state
