Charitable Giving A Way Of Life—And Of A Mason
By Kansas Masonic Foundation Staff
Jonathan W. McConnell learned the importance of generosity from his parents growing up, both of whom were ministers, and from numerous congregants in his father’s church who were Masons.
“I grew up around these older gentlemen who were Masons,” he said. “Philanthropy has always been a huge part of my life. Both of my parents were ministers, and I lost my mother when I was 13 to a rare form of cancer. So I’ve tried to spend my adult life giving back to the community and helping those in need.”
The loss of his mother and that spirit of giving led McConnell to donate $100,000 to the Kansas Masonic Foundation’s Building Kansas campaign.
“The KMF funds so much cancer research,” McConnell, of Wichita, said. “The type of cancer my mother had, they don’t have 5K runs to raise money for, and you don’t see all these different charities supporting it. This was the first time where I felt like I could give something in her honor, in her memory, that would help fight what ultimately took her.”
