Skip to main content

Success in Springfield

by Programs Assistant Sarah Louderman

Due to my brother’s poor timing picking a wedding date, I unfortunately did not have the chance to attend the Elks National Convention in New Orleans this past summer. Thankfully though, the Elks National Foundation was invited to attend the Illinois Elks Convention. The IEA wants to encourage more Lodges to apply for Community Investments Program grants, so our two-person grant department of Programs Associate, Mary Morgan, and I traveled to Springfield for the weekend.

Mary and I arrived in Springfield late Friday morning and were greeted by many friendly Elks who helped us set up a conference room for office hours. We held office hours and assisted visitors with general information about the Community Investments Program. Afterwards, we walked to the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library and spent the end of the afternoon touring the spectacular exhibits and perusing the gift shop.

Once we returned from our museum visit, we went to the top floor of the hotel to stop by the Districts’ hospitality rooms. The rooms were decorated with fun themes and we toured each one to say hello to volunteers we had become acquainted with through the Community Investments Program. Since our grant presentation was planned for Saturday morning, we decided to turn in early so we would be well-rested and prepared for the next day.

Saturday morning was busy and exciting. Mary and I met early to review our presentation notes and before long, we had only 15 minutes before we were planned to start! We hurried to the conference room and got rolling. The room was filled from the beginning, but many more people joined and we eventually had to bring in additional chairs. The crowd was attentive and we distributed all of our flyers and brochures. The presentation mainly focused on the Beacon and Gratitude Grants, since these are generally the only two still available in September. Mary detailed the different guidelines for each grant, important details that the ENF looks for on grant applications, and common application mistakes.

After the presentation wrapped, many Elks came up to chat with us and ask questions. Some people requested more information and others just wanted to introduce themselves. After speaking with so many volunteers over the phone during our regular work days, it’s always nice to formally meet in person.

We stayed for a couple hours after the presentation to help a few Secretaries, Exalted Rulers, and Grant Coordinators with project ideas and planning. Once everyone had the assistance they needed, we packed up our rental car to hit the road—but not before one last stop. We had a craving for something sweet, chocolaty, and Lincolny, so we stopped at the Lincoln Museum’s gift shop one last time to purchase chocolate covered penny cookies. We then bid farewell to Springfield and the IEA Convention. Thank you for being such great hosts!

The Elks National Foundation allocated $8.68 million this year to fund the Community Investments Program. Lodges meet local needs in Elks communities through Beacon, Gratitude, Promise and Impact Grants. These grants offer Lodges opportunities to serve the community in ways that will raise the Lodge’s profile, energize the membership, encourage former members to return to the fold, and gain the notice of people who want to be part of an organization that’s doing great things. To learn more about the Community Investments Program, please visit www.elks.org/enf/community. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Labels

Show more

Popular posts from this blog

Seizing Every Opportunity

Reflections from the SAB President By Kat Nakamura 2019 MVS Scholar Hi, Elks Family! I’m Kat Nakamura, a 2019 MVS Scholar currently serving as the president of the Scholar Advisory Board. My time with the Elks has been a transformative experience, not only providing me with financial support for my education but opening the door to a nurturing community of like-minded individuals and remarkable opportunities. My journey began when I applied for the Elks Most Valuable Student scholarship, and little did I know it was just the beginning of a life-changing adventure. Months later, my mom encouraged me to apply to join the Scholar Advisory Board. Initially hesitant, I thought there was no chance of being accepted. Little did I realize that this decision would lead me to one of my most cherished experiences throughout college. The Scholar Advisory Board are the representatives that advise the ENF on scholar relations. Apart from being on the board, members attend the Elks National Conve...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 w...
3 comments
Read more

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 heavil...
5 comments
Read more