Elks National Foundation Blog

by Jim O'Kelley Director, Elks National Foundation Darkness falls on an empty Elks Veterans Memorial. I can’t get Jon Bon Jovi out of my head. Specifically, I’m stuck on the five words he swore to all of us: “I’ll be there for you.” Alas, we cannot be there for you--there being our offices in the Elks Veterans Memorial. Illinois currently is under a mandate from the Governor to shelter in place through April 7, at least. But we are here for you. The ENF began transitioning to a remote workplace last week. As of today, all 18 of us are out of the office and working normal business hours from home. We’re as passionate about helping you build stronger communities as we ever were. As my colleague Debbie Kahler Doles says, “The office may be closed, but the mission continues.” If you need to reach us, email or a phone call are your best bets. We do have a solution for old-fashioned mail, but it will be a few days at least before that solution is up to speed. Although the...

by Jim O'Kelley Director, Elks National Foundation What a difference a few weeks make. As I’m sure is the case with you, COVID-19 has upended things around here. I’d like to take a few minutes to update you on how the pandemic has affected our staff and programs. I’ll start with the staff. On Monday, there were 18 of us in the office. Yesterday, only five. Everyone else is working remotely from home. We’re all communicating with one another using wonderful technology. And the people at home have access to the network via work-issued laptops, as well as their work phones and email. Contacting us should be seamless for you.  Normally, the second floor at the ENF is a hub. The skeleton crew in the office should shrink to four at some point this week. We are here to deal with the aspects of our work that do not lend themselves to working remotely. You can help us further reduce our numbers. If you are a Lodge officer or ENF Fundraising Chair who has been sitting on a sta...

by Chelsea Dennis Programs Assistant  Clean air, towering mountains, and as Jocelyn nicely put, “great foliage” characterizes my experience road tripping with Jenna and the CIPsters (Do you like our band name? We should totally create an album cover). Although our prized possession is Lake Michigan, we Chicago folks don’t often get the chance to experience nature in our concrete universe. It was quite a joy to experience beautiful scenery on our #ScholarCIPMegaTrip through the Carolinas. In addition to experiencing breathtaking views from the back seat (I’ll admit I like to take too many naps to ever be the co-pilot), Elks scholars Madison and Brandon, so graciously volunteered to give us tours of UNC and Duke’s gorgeous arboretums. I won’t say which one I thought was best (I don’t want to start a war) but both were beautiful in their own right. Jocelyn and Colleen listen to the Campus Whistler. When we first arrived at UNC, we couldn’t pinpoint this mysterious...

by Jocelyn Moya Programs Assistant Recently my colleagues and I had the opportunity to travel through North and South Carolina to connect with Elks scholars and to stop by a couple of Lodges. Have you ever been to a family reunion? No? Me either. I come from a very small family. I’d imagine family reunions are a lot like how I feel about this trip—an opportunity to meet almost strangers who you’re somehow able to easily relate with because you just so happen to be connected by a common thread—and excessive amounts of good food. I guess that’s why they call it #ElksFamily, huh? While the common thread for family reunions might be actual DNA, I think for our #ElksFamily it’s a commitment to our community through service. You can see this commitment when talking to just one Elks scholar, hearing them connect with one another as a group, talking to Elks about why they’re involved in the Lodge, and hearing about membership gains from grant projects. #ElksFamily Meet-up ...