Royal Arcanum News and Events

 

January 03, 2023 Newsletter #55

Hi Member, Happy New Year! As we welcome 2023, let's resolve to make this year another fantastic trip around the sun. The Royal Arcanum is here for you, to help ensure your financial future for you and your family, to help you connect to your family, friends, and community, and to make the world a little better each day. Reminders for the New Year Each year, as we turn the page on our calendars, it's a good time to remember to check to see if there are any items we might have forgotten during the holiday rush. We have a small selection of reminders to check off on your list. January is the Month of Let's check in on the awareness, observances, fun facts, and history that January brings to us. Charitable Activities Highlights Let's take a peek at a few charitable activities our members have been busy with. College News The scholarship application deadline has passed, but for those who applied, please keep an eye on your next deadline. Inspirational Quote January's quote to inspire us for 2023. Upcoming Dates Update your calendar with these important dates.    Reminders for the New Year   Annuities are currently earning 4% The Royal Arcanum is currently offering a 4% rate for their annuities, both for existing and new contracts. New annuities can be opened with as little as $500. Why not invest in your future today? Link into the Royal Arcanum Connect to the Royal Arcanum on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network. LinkedIn is a great place to connect to both businesses and to professionals using connections made through their free service. Follow our page today!   Share your council's Christmas party activities The deadline for submissions for the next Bulletin is on January 15. There's still time to send in your pictures and articles for that issue, which will highlight the Christmas activities and parties throughout our jurisdictions. Submit your article soon!   Annual Reminders   Make one of your new year's resolutions to ensure your policies are in order.  Beneficiaries: Do you need to update your beneficiaries? Do you remember who they are? The Royal Arcanum is required by law to pay beneficiaries (or the estate of predeceased beneficiaries). Be sure your beneficiaries are up to date. Contact information: Have you moved or changed your phone number or email address? Be sure to keep the Royal Arcanum informed of your contact changes so we can keep you up to date with all the latest news. Banking changes? If you have or are planning to change your bank account, be sure to update your auto-payment information so your CHECK-O-MATIC payments stay up to date.    January is the month of...     Awarenesses   Cervical Health Awareness Month January has been designated as Cervical Health Awareness Month by the United States Congress. Make this a chance to share information about how women can protect themselves from HPV and cervical cancer through screenings and vaccinations.   Glaucoma Awareness Month Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States. It has no early symptoms, leading to half of those suffering from it to be unaware they have it. Glaucoma Awareness Month hopes to encourage more people, especially those over 60 or those with a family history, to get a comprehensive eye exam. While there's no cure, early treatment can often stop the damage and protect your vision.   Poverty Awareness Month National Poverty in America Month is a month-long focus aimed to raise awareness of poverty in America. In 2021, nearly 38 million people fell below the official poverty rate: That's 11.6% of everyone in the United States! In the last 60 years, the United States' poverty rate has remained above 10%. Let's work to bring the numbers down!   National Stalking Awareness Month The president has declared this month National Stalking Awareness Month, We must all be aware of the violating nature of stalking and its warning signs to help safeguard the victims of stalking in all its forms. Help to relieve the fear, stress, and anxiety endured by those who are being stalked.   Holidays and Observances New Year's Day is has been celebrated on January 1st in the current modern Gregorian calendar. Celebrating the start of a new year reaches back at least four millennia, and is accompanied by many traditions around the world, from making resolutions to running around the block with a suitcase to jumping off chairs at the stroke of midnight. This is the most celebrated holiday in the world!   Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrates the influential civil rights leader best known for his work on racial equality in the United States. It is celebrated this year on January 16, the third Monday of January, which is close to his actual birthday of January 15, 1929.   International Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27 and is set aside to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. Approximately 1/3 of the Jewish people were murdered along with other minorities considered undesirable by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945.   Fun Days National Thank God It's Monday Day is celebrated on January 2. Who celebrates this may be one of the world's greatest mysteries. January 3 is J.R.R. Tolkien Day. Celebrate by wearing a ring on all of your nine fingers. Bubble Bath Day is on January 8. Relax and enjoy! January 12 is Stick to Your New Year's Resolution Day...if it isn't already too late. Make Your Dream Come True Day is January 13, presumably available to those who successfully celebrated the previous day. Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day is January 17. This isn't a suggestion, just noting the day. January 19 is National Good Memory Day. Remember when you had New Year's Resolutions that you kept? Compliment Day is on January 24. We're impressed that you remembered it. Inspire Your Heart With Art Day on January 31. Find beauty in the world around you! Historical Events January 1, 1863:    The Emancipation Proclamation officially freed the slaves in all states rebelling against the Union. It wasn't until December 18, 1865, that the 13th Amendment was adopted and officially abolished slavery throughout the United States. January 3, 1924:    The sarcophagus of Tutankhamen was discovered by Howard Carter January 4, 1809:    Louis Braille was born, who invented a reading system for the blind January 5, 1925:    Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was inaugurated as the first female governor in the United States January 6, 1412:    Joan of Arc was born in Domrémy, France January 17, 1773:    The ship Resolution, under the command of Captain James Cook, because the first vessel to cross the Antarctic Circle January 23, 1849:    Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in America January 24, 1848:    Gold was accidentally discovered during the construction of Sutter's sawmill near Coloma, California January 27, 1945:    The Russian Army liberated the Auschwitz Death Camp near Krakow, Poland      Charitable Activities Highlights   Ukraine Toddler Fraternal Project The Illinois Grand Council completed its IFS project supporting the Ukraine Toddler Fraternal Project. Their donation joined the many councils and members who supported this project at the Session in Annapolis, helping the ongoing needs of the children suffering from the war. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine is still less than a year old, and each day adds more to the unjust suffering of the people, especially the children.   Children of Promise, NYC Sharon Content founded Children of Promise, NYC, in 2009, due to her concern about the lack of support offered to young people who experience parental incarceration. It is the first and only after-school program and summer day camp in NYC specifically designed to meet the needs, interests, and concerns of children left behind by a parent serving time in prison. The Grand Council of New York supported their mission with an IFS project, helping to support children of incarcerated parents in leading healthy and productive lives.   Calvary Hospital Claremont Council #1655 made a donation to Calvary Hospital, which cares for the medical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our adult patients with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Their family-centric approach to care is geared to reduce the stress and concerns of family members of patients in addition to serving the needs of their patients. Calvary Hospital has been serving its community for almost 120 years.   Sisters of Life The Sisters of Life was another IFS project of Claremont Council #1655. They are a community that believes every person is valuable and sacred; that every person is good, loved, unique, and unrepeatable; and that every person’s life has deep meaning, purpose, and worth. Their Crisis Pregnancy Help centers offer free, confidential support and a safe space for women feeling trapped by their pregnancy, along with offering retreat centers and offering Hope & Healing support for women who are suffering after an abortion.   Sisters Servants of Mary - Ministers to the Sick Claremont Council #1655 also completed an IFS Project in support of Sisters, Servants of Mary - Ministers to the Sick, who are dedicated to the care of the sick, and poor, especially caring for them in their own homes. Their mission was founded for this purpose in the Bronx, New York, on August 6, 1931, and they have been providing their care for more than 90 years.   Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless Each year, the Home Office Staff has answered their own call to support their community. As they have for the past several years, the Home Office has collected and distributed items for the Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless. The coalition is guided by a dedication to social justice and compassion  and strives to nurture and empower families and individuals seeking basic needs assistance by providing them the shelter, food, and educational resources necessary to reach their potential and independence. The Home Office Staff made a donation of toys, clothing, healthcare items, and other gifts in support of the Holiday Fund program, helping to bring some Christmas cheer to their area.   Reminder on submitting IFS Projects Projects supporting the 2022 IFS Program, which require the date of donation to occur in the 2022 calendar year, must have their project submitted to the IFS Committee no later than February 28, 2023. The 2023 IFS Program has now begun, and the reimbursements have been reset for all councils for the new year.   Thank you to our members and staff for the highlighted charitable projects, and for all the fraternal community support our members engage in everywhere. Don't forget to share your stories and submit an article (and pictures, if possible) for the bulletin.    College News   Next Steps for Scholarship Applicants Scholarship applicants, be sure to get in all your documents, along with a recent picture of yourself, before the deadline of March 31. Every applicant should have received a confirmation of their application from the Home Office and a checklist of items that will need to be completed before the application is finalized. If you never received a confirmation, please contact the Home Office immediately. Please call (888) 272-2686 or send us an email to ensure your application has been received.      Inspirational quotes   “I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do.” ―     Jana Stanfield    Upcoming dates   Mark your calendar with these important dates: Bulletin article submission deadline: January 15, 2023 2022 Fraternalism in Action reports deadline: February 15, 2023 The Lorraine J. D'Emilio Legacy of Home projects run from September 1 to February 28 2022 IFS submission deadline: February 28, 2023 Scholarship checklist items deadline: March 31, 2023 Dime A Day program completion: October 18, 2023