Charitible Giving of Time and Resources

We are known for our charitable giving both through time and financial resources. Our focus has been on places where we can make a big difference and the Hays Boys are proud to be a leader in contributing to our community. Charity is not just opening your wallet, but it can also mean contributing time. Each year Hays Lodge contributes our time to at least one project with a focus on sustainability and improvement to our community.

Saving Lives – Making a Difference

AED Donation Saved a Life at Bay View High School

One of the most gratifying projects we have contributed to was our donation of AED’s. Arterial Electronic Devices are mobile devices that can shock a heart back to life. In 2019, we learned that Bay View High School did not have a mobile AED. In recent years, there have been cases in the news where, after a game, students have stopped to rest and have had heart attacks and died. This is nothing short of tragic.

17 AED units have been donated to various not for profit areas in the last 4 years.

Several schools including Ronald Reagan High School, Cooper Elementary School and Bradley Tech High School in Milwaukee have all received AED’s from Hays Lodge.

Leukemia Lymphoma Association
Bob Skaradzinski’s daughter is a lymphoma (a blood cancer) survivor and is in remission. When Bob’s daughter was going through her chemo treatments, they used a 5 medicine series of drugs to fight the cancer. After half of her treatments were completed, her tumor had disappeared. This inspired Hays Boys and impressed upon us the importance of research. We know that research costs money. Today, Bob’s daughter participates in a fundraiser called light-the-night that raises money to fight and treat blood cancers. Hays is proud to have sponsored Stephanee in her efforts to raise funds and bring awareness to the need for research for a Lymphoma cure.

The son of one of our Past Masters has leukemia and fortunately he is living an active life in remission.

Another brother of Hays Lodge, was one of the first parents in the state to use CarT-cell (a medicine) to target the cancer cells instead of traditional chemotherapy which fully attacks the whole body. Unfortunately Brother John lost his battle against lymphoma a couple of years ago but our loss of our brother has reminded us of the importance of research.

Fire Supression Tools
Casually referred to as fire suppression grenades, these tools are about the size of a football. Hays Lodge has raised enough money to donate 3 of these devices to local police departments.  As police officers tend to be the first on the scene and can arrive as much as 7 minutes on average before firefighters, an FST can save a building, save a home and reduce devastation.  We have donated 2 to the Brown Deer Police Department and 1 to the Glendale Police Department.

Toys for Tots
Hays Lodge partnered with the Marine Corps Reserve and Salvation Army to donate over $2000 worth of cash and Toys to needy children in our community.  Due to the need, Hays plans to expand our involvement this coming fall.

Wauwatosa First Responders-fest.  Scholarships were given to students who are pursuing a career in a first responder related field.  Careers such as police, firefighter, EMS, nursing or any other first responder fields, students are invited to receive these scholarships. One scholarship goes to a Wauwatosa East Student and one goes to a Wauwatosa West student.  Hays has provided scholarships for several years and in 2023 Hays was the lead sponsor for First Responders-fest.

Other Charitable donations as follows:
Ronald McDonald House
Tripoli Shrine
Messmer High School
Hunger Task Force
Boy Scouts
T0sa Cares Food Bank
Mount Zion Church (Wauwatosa) – provides clothing for free to those who need it.  No questions asked.
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