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Under these circumstances, a century ago, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of Labor James J. Davis created the first safety net for widows and orphans known as Mooseheart, a 1,000-acre residential community and school for children in need.
"James J. Davis saw a need to create a safe haven for working-class widows and children at a time when Social Security did not exist. There was no government safety net to provide benefits to the families of a breadwinner who died or became disabled," said Moose International Director General & CEO William B. Airey. "We are proud of Jim Davis's legacy, but we are even more proud that today's Moose men and women continue to support the hundreds of children who come to Mooseheart to live," he added.
Davis, a native of Wales who had worked from boyhood as an "iron puddler" in the steel mills of Pennsylvania, had also been a labor organizer and immediately saw potential for the tiny Moose fraternity. He proposed to pitch Moose membership to the working class as a way to provide protection for members at a bargain price: annual dues of $5 to $10.
Mooseheart has housed, clothed and educated nearly 12,000 students in the 93 years since its inception. These students have come from all over the continent and have been able to grow and develop in a safe and nurturing environment, far away from gangs and drugs. Upon graduation from Mooseheart High School, students have the opportunity for appropriate post-high-school training-including four-year Moose scholarships to college when warranted. The great majority of the costs to operate the community are funded by the one-million-plus men and women of the Moose; it receives no government funding.
Moose is a fraternal organization founded in 1888, with 1.3 million men and
women members in nearly 1,800 Moose Centers across the U.S., Canada, Great
Britain and Bermuda. For more information, visit www.Mooseintl.org or call (630)
966-2213. Jewel Davis Cornell, daughter of founder James J. Davis, with
Mooseheart children.
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