Elks National Foundation Blog

By Programs Associate Mary Morgan Debbie Doles, Kristen Scaletta and I landed in Las Vegas on a warm, sunny afternoon, which was a welcome change from recently-turned-cold Chicago. We rented our car and soon left the bright lights and big dreams of Vegas behind as we headed into the dusty red mountains and desert that led us to St. George, Utah. We were on our way to gather footage for the ENF’s soon-to-be released short feature film, Giving Back . For the past three years, St. George ‘Dixie’, Utah, Lodge No. 1743 has used an Impact Grant to run the Pantry Partners for Success project at Millcreek High, a local alternative high school. The Lodge provides material and other support to the students at the school. It’s a wildly successful project, and has both raised the graduation rate at the school and raised the Lodge’s image in the community. Because of this, we chose to feature this project as part of the ENF video, and were headed to get footage of Elks in action. Desert Cru...

Venice/Nokomis, Fla., Lodge No. 1854 Thanks to Venice/Nokomis, Fla., Lodge No. 1854, local families in need are well fed. The Lodge partnered with All Faiths Food Bank Mobile Cupboard program and used its Elks National Foundation Gratitude Grant to donate food and volunteer time for three months this year. More than 100 families received food twice a month from Elks volunteers like Wayne East, Merle Tarr and Sven Nelson, pictured above. The Elks National Foundation helps Lodges serve their communities by offering $2,000 Gratitude Grants. Lodges are eligible to apply for Gratitude Grants after meeting the National President’s per-capita goal for Foundation giving. To find out more about Gratitude Grants and the Community Investments Program, visit www.elks.org/enf/community .   

Carson City, Nev., Lodge No. 2177 Carson City, Nev., Lodge No. 2177 gave community members in need the option to choose healthy foods. The Lodge used its Elks National Foundation Gratitude Grant to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for Hungry Kids Healthy Foods, the local food pantry. Elks also volunteer for the pantry, unpacking and preparing the food for distribution. The Elks National Foundation helps Lodges serve their communities by offering $2,000 Gratitude Grants. Lodges are eligible to apply for Gratitude Grants after meeting the National President’s per-capita goal. To find out more about Gratitude Grants and the Community Investments Program, visit www.elks.org/enf/community .   

By Debbie Doles, Assistant Director As Jim mentioned in his February 18 post, we’ve been trying to work in side visits to our Community Investments Program grant recipients whenever we’re out in the field. We had another opportunity to do so last week during a planned trip to the Region 7 Hoop Shoot contest in Las Vegas, Nev. Our Programs Associate Mary Morgan and I left the cold confines of Chicago on Wednesday, February 16, and flew to a much warmer Las Vegas. We rented a car and drove two hours northeast to visit with one of our superstar Impact Grant Lodges—St. George ‘Dixie’ Lodge No. 1743 and its “Pantry Partners for Success” project. Thanks to the ENF Impact Grant, this Millcreek student can focus on school without worrying about funding her next meal. Mary arranged all the details with the Impact Grant “Pantry Partners for Success” project managers Wayne Preston and Betty Archambault. Before we headed to the high school to see the pantry in action, our first...