Below is the transcript of the speech given by our Grand Worthy Advisor, Alana, introducing our new Grand Service Project, Families Forward (www.families-forward.org), at the at the First Official Visit in 2017.

There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home. These famous words spoken by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz are true, there is no place like home. But what if you don’t have a home to return to? What do you do then? Not all of us can click our heels together and magically find ourselves within the comfort of our own home. For many of us, our homes are a safe place to which we can return after a tough day at school or work. Unfortunately, not everyone has this same luxury.

Over 600,000 families in the United States go without a home every year. We know that a family will stick together through thick and thin, even if that means being homeless. As Californians, we are aware of the exceptionally high cost of living in California. As a result, many families in the state cannot afford a home. So, how can we work to solve this problem? We can work to give each family the home that they deserve so that they can start a new life going in the right direction--forward.

Families Forward works to do just that. Located in Orange County--an area known for its high cost of living--Families Forward helps provides over 150 low-income families in 2016 with a place that they can call their home. In addition, this organization also works to provide the families with access to its food pantry, career workshops, family support programs, basic school supplies, and helping families during the holiday season. Families Forward works to make sure that these families can start a new, better life filled with dignity, hope, and empowerment.

This year, let us work towards ensuring that every family has a place that they can return to every night. I would like to encourage each assembly to help out the families in their local community by planning a food drive or assembling homeless care packages for those in need. You can also reach out for the support from our sponsoring bodies and youth groups so that our Masonic family can work together to help families in need. I am pleased to announce that California Rainbow has selected Families Forward as our 2018 Grand Service Project and with our help we can make sure that families can keep moving forward and never have to look back, so that we all can say that “There’s no place like home.” Thank you.