Elks National Foundation Blog

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