Jocelyn Moya
ENF Programs Assistant
This week I, along with my two wonderful colleagues Colleen and
Maryann, was able to experience firsthand the work Lodges across the country
are taking part in—and it was exceptional. The information we’re able to gather
when reviewing grant applications or reading project reports can only go so
far—the ability to visit a Lodge, see a project in action, and meet the
wonderful and hardworking volunteers who put it all together really puts the
cherry on top.
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| Checking out the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden |
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In the Minneapolis
suburban area, there are two Lodges using an Impact Grant to tackle one very
important issue: combating teen homelessness. However, the only similarities
between the two projects are the great group of volunteers behind them and the
impact they’re making.
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| CIPsters
learning about such a great partnership! |
An Avenue to a Future
At Minneapolis, Minn.,
Lodge No. 44, volunteers work with one single partner organization, Avenues for
Homeless Youth, to assist the teen residents and staff of this transitional
housing program.
The facility houses ten
teens and leaves one bed open for emergency situations. The Elks work with the
facility to ensure residents have basic necessities, cook weekly meals at the
residence, and help maintain the grounds. The most incredible part of this
project is how much the community was behind opening this facility. From
talking with Lodge members and Avenues staff, it became evident that this was a
project the community was really pushing for. In fact, it only took 18 months
for the city to approve and build the center. Since day one, the Lodge has been
there to help support the facility and its residents in any way necessary.
Hope in Hopkins
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| Debbie
and Colleen having a fun time setting up the backpacks. |
While visiting Hopkins,
Minn., Lodge No. 2221, we had the opportunity to help assemble hygiene packs
the Lodge provides to teens and meet with a few of the community partners they
work with. The most inspirational part of the visit was seeing how this project
has grown in terms of community partners and support. There is a really
exceptional group of volunteers doing a lot of fantastic work, but beyond that
they’re bringing in local community groups from churches to softball teams to
Boy and Girl Scouts to stuffing parties at people’s homes to get them all
involved and invested in the cause.
In the beginning,
Project Manager DeDe Noll Kelm stated that when they debuted these bags people
would snatch them up right away. But, as they began to see the Elks would
actually stick around the organizations started taking only what they needed.
At MoveFwd, one of the organizations that we stopped by to chat with, it became
clear how much the relationship with the Lodge has grown and how much trust has
been built. The Executive Director, Lydia Kihm, said, “The project has morphed
and now we’re not panicky they’re going to disappear.” This speaks so much to
the reliability of Teaming Up for Teens and their ability to adapt to the needs
of those they’re helping. The Housing Manger chimed in and said teens come to
them looking for the bags which allows MoveFwd to then connect them to added
support and resources.
We were also able to
visit a school and speak to the counselors and social workers and Treehouse
another organization aimed at helping teens who are at-risk succeed, everyone
had nothing but praises for the Elks and were so thankful for the support the
bags provide.
Community is Key
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| The efforts of combined work! |
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After visiting with both
of these great Lodges and meeting all the committed volunteers tackling this
one critical issue in such different ways, I can say that the most important
part of any successful project is the community. At the Minneapolis Lodge, they
were lucky to have the community behind them to support this cause but without
the community who knows if the project would have been possible today. At
Hopkins, the Lodge had to work hard to gain the trust of the local
organizations serving teens and they did. Now they’re bringing in the rest of
the local community to build added support.
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