Elks National Foundation Blog

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#ElksFamily From Biloxi to San Diego

By: Jacob Fritchie, 2017 Most Valuable Student scholar I joined the #ElksFamily as a Top 20 Most Valuable Student scholar in 2017. Leadership Weekend was a blast, and I was so thankful for the scholarship money that allowed me to go to my dream school, the University of Illinois. After learning about the wonderful Elks National Foundation during Leadership Weekend, I knew that I wanted to stay involved and continue connecting with scholars across the country. My first opportunity was the 2018 Summer Elks Scholar Service Trip before the 150 for 150 celebration in San Antonio, Texas. In San Antonio, the main focus was serving people experiencing homelessness. We weeded a large community garden, cleaned a school building for children without homes, and volunteered with a shelter large enough for hundreds of families. I had done community service on my own but volunteering with a group of 19 other serviced-minded individuals felt different. Every day after service, we would have reflect

A Boatload of Scholars, a Busload of Clothes

By: Aditi V. Patel, 2019 Most Valuable Student scholar Last week, I had the pleasure of serving alongside 20 other amazing Elks scholars as a part of the Tampa Elks Scholar Service Trip. I did my research before the trip and found that Hurricane Ian had displaced more than 40,000 Floridians in September 2022—I wanted to do something to help! After landing in Tampa, we got right to work by sorting a busload (literally) of clothing that Tampa, Fla., Lodge No. 708 collected from the community for Greater Pine Island. We organized each item of clothing by size, made sure each item was in good condition, and placed them into bags. Whenever there weren’t clothes at my table, I would shift to another station to help others, and I saw other scholars doing the same. It was amazing to see everyone laboriously working for hours without any complaints, learning names and fun facts as we went. We had dinner at the Tampa Elks Lodge, which is where I had my first genuine conversations with the s

The Importance of Membership Support: Building a Stronger Donor Base

By Claire Schnucker Some tasks are prone to procrastination. For ENF Fundraising Chairs, one of those can be submitting donor lists. Remitting donations to us can be time consuming, but it’s so important, and we really appreciate all the time and work that goes into keeping the ENF up to date on who our donors are. Why do we care? Let’s break it down. Knowing how to submit member donations to us is important. Ensuring that donors can be credited for their gift is important. Yet, we continue to receive checks from Lodges without an accompanying list of the members who donated the money. When that happens, the entire donation is credited solely to the Lodge, which means the actual donors aren’t credited, acknowledged, or recognized for their ENF donations. We want every donor to receive credit for their generosity. You can help by accurately tracking donations from your Lodge’s members, and sharing those lists with us when you send in checks. For your trouble, you may even qual

Elks Scholar to Scholar Fellow

by Raleigh Cury, Elks Scholar Fellow My first week as the Elks Scholar Fellow has been a whirlwind. Unfortunately, there was a hiccup with my work laptop, as it seems to have been either lost in the mail or stolen from my doorstep. Luckily, the ENF was able to get a second one to me quickly! Besides that, it has been a smooth transition into a new job! Everyone has been warm and welcoming, and I am very excited for what is to come. I have started brainstorming about the Winter Elks Scholar Service Trip. My initial idea is to provide disaster relief in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian. We might not do disaster relief, but Florida has become a strong contender for the trip. As a life-long resident of the South, I am especially excited to have a job that will take me all over the country. In fact, I will be flying to Chicago for the job for the first time in less than a month. I graduated in 2021 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I was heavily involve

Scholars Serve in Seattle

By Lauren Chen, Most Valuable Student Scholar A few weeks ago, I attended my second Elks Scholar Service Trip, this time in Seattle! I had an awesome experience at the 2021 Summer Service Trip in Boston, so I was super excited to explore Seattle and serve with my fellow Elks scholars. Our first service site was Immanuel Community Services. ICS runs multiple programs, including a Food Bank, a Hygiene Center where people can wash their clothes or take a shower, a Recovery Program that provides shelter to men overcoming addiction, and a monthly Community Lunch that offers a hot meal to anyone who is hungry. With these programs, they reach over 1,700 people every month! That morning, we helped reorganize the freezer, hand out food, clean the van and facilities, and melt more than 300 pounds of expired ice cream down the drain. I was in awe of how diverse ICS’s programs were and how many people they help in the Seattle community. Our second service site was Jubilee Women’s Center, which

Finding a Place in the #ElksFamily

by Aleah Hahn, Most Valuable Student Scholar Aleah Hahn received a second place Most Valuable Student scholarship in 2018. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2021 with degrees in Biosystem Engineering and German. She is pursuing her master’s degree in Marine Resource Management at Oregon State. In her free time, she likes to cycle, forage and hike. Over my spring break I was able to partake in the 2022 Spring Elks Scholar Service Trip in Chicago! In 2018, I attended the 150 for 150 Service Trip in San Antonio, where we celebrated the Elks 150th anniversary through service. Both were amazing experiences to serve in the name of the Elks. They were alike but also different in many ways. In San Antonio, I connected with Elks state leadership from my home state of Michigan since the trip was at the Elks National Convention! I served with 149 other scholars and met many of them. It was a great opportunity to connect with other scholars. The majority of our service was at Haven

Where has the SAB Bean? Chicago!

by Colleen Conrad, Scholarships Manager The Elks Scholar Advisory Board (SAB) is a group of Elks scholars—current and alumni—who advise the ENF on its scholar relation efforts. When I presented the idea of getting together in Chicago for our first in-person Scholar Advisory Board meeting in two years, I was prepared for some trepidation. It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench in traveling and gathering for everyone, and finding time during the busy fall semester for our scholars is always difficult. However, the response I received from our SAB was an overwhelming, enthusiastic “yes!” That enthusiasm never dissipated throughout our whirlwind SAB weekend together at the start of November. Eight of the 10 2021-22 SAB members visited the Elks National Memorial and Headquarters, participated in some fun bonding activities, explored Chicago, and of course, put in some real work during the day-long board meeting. “While I’ve never been to an in-person SAB me

Aiming to Impact

by Shiv Patel Shiv Patel is a 2018 Most Valuable Student Scholar and 2021 Weigel Medical School Scholarship recipient. He recently graduated from Northwestern University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in data science. He now attends medical school at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I recently returned from the Elks Scholar Service Trip in Chicago, where I had the opportunity to engage in community service alongside nine other Elks scholars. While I had taken part in several other service experiences in the past, including a past Elks Scholar Service Trip, my time on this trip was unparalleled. Since being awarded the Most Valuable Student Scholarship during my senior year of high school, I have recognized the Elks as an organization dedicated to service. Shortly after receiving the scholarship, I had the opportunity to take part in the Elks 150 for 150 weekend in San Antonio, Texas. There, I was constantly engaged in dialogue abou

Making a Difference from a Distance

by Lydia Smeltz, 2017 Legacy Scholar Last year, I had the opportunity to work with Raleigh, N.C., Lodge No. 735 on their USO Holiday Snack Bag Project as part of the 2019 Cornerstone Grant . The Raleigh Elks have worked with the USO to provide snack bags for troops traveling through the Raleigh-Durham (RDU) airport during the holidays for the past five years. By organizing this event, the Raleigh Elks support the service men and women during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I formed relationships with the Raleigh Elks, who have become a second family to me over the past four years. When I reached out to them to express my interest in applying for the 2020 Cornerstone Grant and assisting with this event for a second year, they were overjoyed. They explained that funding was down due to COVID and that the grant would alleviate a financial burden while allowing us to serve our community. Thanks to the Cornerstone Grant, we were able to continue this tradition for both holida