Greg Moore was given hope at the Masonic Children’s Home.

Greg’s early years are full of memories he wishes he didn’t have. Growing up in northeast Philadelphia with four siblings, he was 6 years old when his mother left.

His unstable father was responsible for raising the family, and his home environment immediately became harsh. Basic needs were soon taken away, one at a time.

“First, our water was shut off. Our middle bedroom, with a bucket, became our bathroom,” Greg said. It only got worse from there. “We dragged jugs of kerosene in a laundry cart through the snow for heat. I can honestly remember only having one change of underwear.”

To make matters worse, Greg often met the hands of bullies on his way to and from school. “It wasn’t even that long of a walk,” he recalls. “Getting jumped was an everyday thing.” His situation broke him down physically and mentally, and he began to wonder if this was as good as it would ever get for him.

One day, when Greg was 11 years old, he found out he was leaving his home for a better place. A place that would meet his daily needs. He could do more than just get by, and best of all, his siblings would be joining him. This place, the Masonic Children’s Home, would have an impact on him that would last a lifetime.

“It’s just the feeling of being safe and getting the chance to be happy-go-lucky,” Greg said. He remembers his friends, riding his bike around campus, weekend movies, roller-skating and, most importantly, the house parents, educators and volunteers who changed his life. A few have since passed away, and Greg often pays his respects at their gravesides.

“These people give everything to give you a better childhood,” he said. After graduating from the children’s home in 1993, Greg joined the U.S. Army. He was medically discharged three years later, encouraging him to learn carpentry. He worked at a warehouse until earning his commercial driver’s license in 2000 and taking a job as a truck driver at Air Products, Inc. in 2007. He is proud to be a hard worker, but even more proud of the time he commits to his family.

Every so often, Greg visits the neighborhood where he was born, but notices little change. “They say they’re cleaning things up there,” he said, “meaning they’re cleaning up needles from the streets.”

When he lived there, Greg was too young to get involved in the roughness of the city streets, but he has no doubt he would have eventually. “I wouldn’t be here without the home,” Greg said. “I would be on drugs, in prison or dead. I know it.”

Greg still has no contact with his parents. Fortunately, for him, that’s okay because they taught him one valuable lesson: what not to be. “I don’t spoil my kids, but I hope I’m giving them the ability to become whatever they want to be,” Greg said. “I teach them to always give hugs and kisses, and I teach my son to be a gentleman. I just teach them to love.”

Greg enjoys staying in touch with children’s home graduates from across the country, and thankfully, social media has made that easier. He is also now active in the alumni association, where he learns the stories of others. “It’s neat, because I feel like all of our lives overlapped at some point,” he says. “We all know the different phone numbers of the home by heart, because living there is something you never forget.”

Greg joined the Masonic fraternity in 2012 and is now a member of Riverside Lodge No. 503, Wrightsville. “I joined because I wanted to give back in a way I knew I could,” he said.

When Greg comes in contact with kids who are new to the children’s home, his advice to them is simple. “Remember everyone’s normal is different,” he says. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and give it time, because you don’t know it now, but this is for the better.”

Greg will share his story with anyone who asks, especially if it has the ability to help someone else. If he can assure one child who is on a journey similar to his to keep believing, he will be happy.

“None of this can happen without supporters, so I would tell them to please keep giving to this cause, because it works,” he said. “Every little bit counts when you’re changing all these lives.

“Today, my life is time with my wife, my kids and Freemasonry. It’s my own rags to riches story, really – if money was replaced with happiness.”