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Forecast: April Scholars

By Programs Relationship Associate Anne Shields

Birds chirping. Tulips blooming. Sun shining. Elks scholars serving. Spring is here and Elks scholars are out in full force serving their communities as part of the Elks Scholar Month of Service.

We’ve been promoting the Elks Scholar Month of Service since January, when the snow drifts were up to our office windows, so it’s hard to believe April actually arrived and with it, Elks scholar volunteers.

Now we are in the midst of the Elks Scholar Month of Service, and we’ve seen a great response from Elks scholars across the country (which is no surprise, since Elks scholars are dedicated to service).

So far this month, Elks scholars have served their communities in a variety of ways. Erika Barger, an Elks scholar alum, kayaked out to an island to pick up litter along the Shell Key Preserve beach near St. Petersburg, Fla. A group of seven Elks scholars at Brigham Young University came together to serve at Hoofbeats to Healing, an organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding for children with autism. Elks scholar alum Brennan Takayama hit the streets of Honolulu, Hawaii to hand out sandwiches and personal care items to the homeless community, along with notes of ‘aloha’ or love. Notre Dame Elks scholars sorted donated clothes at the Center for the Homeless (click here for a video). And, Laura Pennington, an Elks scholar alum, is using the entire month of April to collect donated clothing for Vietnam veterans.

That’s a lot of Elks scholar service, and there’s more to come!

From Philadelphia to San Francisco, Elks scholars are showing their continued dedication to their communities and showcasing what it means to be an Elks scholar.

This was just a sampling of Elks scholar service projects. You can read about all the projects here. Continue to check back throughout April as more Elks scholars complete service projects. Here at the office, we love receiving Elks scholar service photos and videos, and we can’t wait to see what other service stories April brings!

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