Skip to main content

The Other March—and April—Madness


Jocelyn Moya
ENF Programs Assistant 

Around this time last year, I was just moving up to the CIP office and everything was a chaotic blur. The phones were ringing non-stop, emails were coming in quicker than we could respond to them, and everyone was trying to get back in compliance before the Beacon Grant deadline. And, this was from my second hand perspective as I was not handling the Beacon Grants yet and was taking care of Gratitude Grants. I thought surely I was in for quite an interesting March—and it was but, I drastically overestimated that amount of mayhem that occurred in the CIP office this year.

This year we were able to top the Beacon Grant record—and hopefully by the end of it we’ll be closer to 1,000 Beacon Grants approved than ever before. There was definitely a lot of work to be done but there seemed to be less of a rush and everything was much more calm, cool and collected. I guess it all comes down to perspective—last year I had only been at the ENF for a few months before it started getting busy. Now I’ve been here for over a year, I have experienced three grant deadlines, the start of a new grant year, the awarding of all 500 Promise Grants, and the Final Report Form deadline. It’s exciting to see how much I’ve grown in my role with the help of my fellow CIPsters, but it’s even more exciting to see how much the Beacon Grants have grown through the years with help from a great group of volunteers! So, how about next year we shoot for 1,000? If we continue to work together, I think it’ll be a slam dunk!

 Take a look at the infographic below to see how far Beacon Grants have come and how your Lodge can help them grow even greater.

Loading...
Loading...
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Labels

Show more

Popular posts from this blog

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
2 comments
Read more

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
1 comment
Read more

The Experience Was a Revelation

by Garrett Schumacher 2011 Legacy Scholar, University of Colorado-Boulder   Prior to this trip of service in Chicago, I had always admired the individuals who gave of their time and talents with the purpose of bettering someone else’s life. I wanted to be like them but for the wrong, selfish reasons. After feeling inadequate in this regard for some time, I decided to take the leap and apply for the opportunity that only an incredible organization could provide. My background with the Elks has shown me that they are a communal group that profoundly affects the lives of many people on a national scale every day; being one of those people through scholarships, I felt I owed something to the F oundation and the people they serve. The experience was a revelation for me. I am a proud member of the Elks family and will continue my work and participation in the organization. I did not owe anyone anything other than gratitude, and I could give of myself for the sole purpose of be
11 comments
Read more