In fall 2022, Victoria Pinkley was newly settled at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Mount Holly, NJ, and pregnant with her first child. She and her husband, both serving in the U.S. Navy, had left family behind in Arkansas and Oklahoma — which meant there was no one nearby to host a baby shower, a rite of passage for many American parents-to-be, for them.

Then the Pinkleys were invited to an on-base brunch hosted by Pennsylvania Masons and the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Organizers promised a nice meal and a few baby-friendly giveaways.

It was so much more than that.

The couple and a few dozen more expectant families at the event left with a trove of helpful items, including a car seat/stroller combination, a baby monitor, clothing, diapers in multiple sizes, blankets, toys, and a $200 gift card.

“I thought I was going to a little brunch thing with a couple of giveaways,” says Pinkley, who gave birth to son Atticus, now three, the following January. “They went above and beyond anything I could have imagined.”

It may seem strange, an all-male fraternity shrouded in mystery and dating to medieval times hosting events that are often considered female-centric, but it’s part of the Freemasons’ “Help for Our Heroes” program, which started in 2008 with the goal of giving phone cards to soldiers about to deploy and now provides multiple forms of support. Heroes is funded by donations from individual Freemasons, about $1.8 million to date. Organizers estimate they’ve held baby showers for hundreds of families so far.

Caring for starting-out military families

Freemasonry, which began as a guild of stonemasons centuries ago, has as its modern mission “to help each other become better men,” according to the PA Masons website. It is not a religious organization, but members are required to have good moral character and believe “in a Supreme Being, whether He be called God, Allah, Jehovah or any other name utilized by one’s faith.” Masonic lodges typically engage in community service, which can range from volunteering at a shelter to organizing clothing drives to raising funds to help victims of natural disasters.

Women can join an affiliate organization called The Order of the Eastern Star.

The PA Masons began hosting baby showers in 2010 when they realized they had more than enough money for phone cards — they’d expected to raise a few hundred dollars and instead raised about $100,000 that first year. Colonel Harris Brooks, who was Director of the Help for Our Heroes Program, came up with the idea of finding ways to help soldiers’ families.

“It’s not only the soldiers, the military personnel, who are heroes. It’s the families who hold down the fort, take care of the children, keep the house intact, and sit with the anxiety and nerves when their service member is deployed or overseas in a danger zone,” says Bob Long, a retired U.S. Army sergeant who became Help for Our Heroes director after Brooks’ death in 2024.

To be eligible, one or both members of a pregnant couple must be affiliated with a PA military base or New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and have a rank of E5 or below, meaning annual basic pay that roughly ranges from $35,000 to $49,000 depending on years of service. Baby-related expenses in a child’s first year average about $20,000, according to a 2025 survey of U.S. families by Baby Center, a parenting website.

“Most of us remember what it’s like to be lower enlisted and how difficult it can be to survive,” Long says. “One of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most is interacting with the families and letting them know that they’re not alone.”

A welcome surprise

The Freemasons are known for keeping their rites and rituals private. They also try to keep details of the showers under wraps. Surprising attendees with multiple unexpected gifts is part of the fun, event organizer Bob Smoose says.

For example, attendees are given a ticket when they arrive and told their names have been entered into multiple giveaways. During the event, organizers will pull a name and award them a big ticket item, like a car seat or a crib. The assembled crowd applauds as the recipient receives their prize.

Then, Smoose says, one of the emcees will say something like, “Hold on. I just got a text from the Grand Master and he says everyone should get one of these,” often drawing gasps from those assembled.

“It’s like our Oprah moment,” says Smoose, treasurer of the Richard Vaux Brotherhood Lodge No. 126 in Philadelphia. “That’s when you get the tears.”

Help when they need it the most

Amy Thomas, who’s been a family advocate at the Joint Base for about 30 years, says the showers boost parents-to-be mentally while helping financially.

“A lot of our young families are living paycheck to paycheck and [the showers] take a huge burden off of them,” she says. “Some are geographically separated from their families, so they’re not going to have a baby shower … Many have told me [afterwards], This was the only chance I had to actually celebrate.”

The showers also bring together young families who bond over their shared challenges and milestones.

“At the showers, you talk to the other people at your table and start building your support system,” says Thomas, who hosts a childbirth class that allows for the same type of networking. “You’re having babies right around the same time. You exchange numbers so you can call each other and rely on each other. The showers are another opportunity to make connections.“

The Commonwealth’s Freemasons usually host three baby showers annually, building a guest list with the help of family support personnel from military bases throughout PA and New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Each event serves between 20 to 55 expectant families. Individual gift packages cost about $1,000.

All guests receive the same package of gifts. Those pregnant with twins or triplets receive two or three of each item as needed. There’s a mother expecting multiples at almost every event, Smoose says.

The Freemasons partner with outside organizations to get the expectant mothers as much help as possible. One community group donates hand-knitted booties and blankets. Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Cribs for Kids is another generous contributor. There are also outside experts on hand to provide advice on everything from the proper way to install a car seat to best practices for safe sleeping.

Pinkley was unfamiliar with the Freemasons before the shower. Her only knowledge of them came from the movie National Treasure, the Nick Cage blockbuster which posits the Freemasons hid a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

And while she’s still unsure of what the fraternity does, she’s a fan. Atticus, she says, still plays with toys she received at her shower. The family also reused the infant gear when they welcomed son Cassius, now one. They’d like to have a third child and hope to be pregnant again before his upcoming deployment.

“I have buckets and buckets of stuff that I can use again, like the original car seat and the stroller,” Pinkley says. “With all of the stuff, you can’t even keep it straight.”

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