The members of Riverside Masonic Lodge 503 in Wrightsville believe in supporting the community. Their efforts range from providing meals for families to organizing blood drives. They also award scholarships annually to students in the Eastern York School District or any student with an affiliation with the lodge.

"We think it's important to help deserving young people continue their education," said Ed Reisinger, senior warden.

Years ago, the organization began offering a single $500 scholarship, and that tradition continued for quite some time, Reisinger said.

"A few years ago, we started looking at that and we thought, 'That's not enough to even buy books nowadays,'" he noted. So, the lodge members decided not only to increase the scholarship amount, but also to increase the number of recipients. For the last two years, the lodge has awarded three $1,000 scholarships to students pursuing higher education in any field.

"We've been very fortunate that the community has supported us through our fundraising efforts, so we've been able to offer larger scholarships," Reisinger shared. Throughout the year, the lodge hosts a chicken barbecue, a pancake breakfast, a chicken and waffle dinner and other fundraisers.

The organization waits to present the scholarship check until the students have received their first semester college or trade school grades, Reisinger noted. "We then invite the student and their parents to attend a lodge meeting to receive the scholarship," he explained.

At its January meeting, the lodge presented $1,000 each to Amya Best, daughter of Edgar and Stephanie Perez, who is pursuing a degree in nursing at HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College; Charles Heap, son of Andrea Hodge, who attends Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology for computer science; and Mason Smeltzer, son of Michele Smeltzer, who also attends Thaddeus Stevens and is studying water and environmental technology.

Applications are available now for 2024 scholarship awards, Reisinger said, noting that the lodge has already received a few.

"We look for students who have done very well in school, but ones who might have more of a financial need than others," he said. "It's a merit- and need-based scholarship."

Students can pick up a scholarship application in their school's guidance department.