About Mooseheart

"Caring for Children in Need"

    On July 27, 1913, with U.S. Vice President Thomas Marshall giving the keynote address, the dream of the fraternity's first Director General, James J. Davis, was realized with the dedication of  Mooseheart, a 1,000-acre City of Children, on the banks of the Fox River in Illinois, approximately forty miles west of Chicago. From the moment it was dedicted, Mooseheart began its service to members of the Order in caring for their children in times of distress. For Mooseheart's first several decades, only children of Moose members could enter its gates; now Mooseheart is a gift we offer to any qualifying child in need.

    With Mooseheart, the members of the Moose demonstrated the truth of their belief that "a burden heavy to one is borne lightly by many." While the cost of raising children -- providing housing, food, clothing and an education--was high, then as now, the more members on the rolls, the less burden it was on the individual.

    Since 1913, men and women of the Moose have brightened the lives of more than 12,000 boys and girls. These children are no longer exclusively orphans from the homes of deceased Moose members. Instead, they are also children who come from non-functional homes, children who have lived through emotional or physical tragedy; many who would have had little chance of succeeding in life had it not been for the men and women of the Moose.