Ladies of the Elks continue to support island community
Wrapping up another successful season of fund raisers, the Ladies of the Elks demonstrated its dedication to the Pine Island community with donations to several island charities and organizations. Among the recipients of last week’s presentations were the Pine Island Elementary School, the Matlacha summer school program from Parks and Recreation and the Pine Island Food Pantry.
This year the members of the Ladies of the Elks presented a check in the amount of $3,000 to Nina Richter and Sue Slingerland, directors of the Parks and Rec. summer program. According to Slingerland, this donation will help to enhance the camper’s experience this summer.
“This donation will enable us to provide things for the kids that we normally would not be able to afford,” said Slingerland. “In these days of budget cutbacks, we have to be so very careful when it come so funds provided by the county and the generosity of the Ladies of the Elks will go a long way in making this the best summer camp experience for the children attending.”
According to Slingerland the funds provided by the Ladies of the Elks will be allocated for an annual pizza party, side trips to various locations on Pine Island and an all camp birthday party. In addition, Slingerland and Richter also are planning a carnival for the children to enjoy as part of the summer program.
“This is our biggest event of the season for the kids and one they really look forward to. On carnival day we will have a bounce house, a giant slide, face painting and laser tag as well as typical carnival treats like hot dogs, cotton candy and Sno-Cones,” said Slingerland.
The Parks and Rec summer camp is offered to children ages 6 to 13 who reside in the Greater Pine Island community. Camp hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday during the summer months and for more information, visit leeparks.org or call 533-7440.
Children are the focus of much of the money donated by the Ladies of the Elks and again, a check in the amount of $1,000 was presented to the Pine Island Elementary School.
On receiving the donation from LOTE, PIE principal, Rob Mazolli expressed his gratitude to the Pine Island community.
“Thanks to the island organizations and the individual support we receive, we are able to provide the children with some of the latest in technology at the school,” said Mazolli. “With their kindness and caring, we are able to give the children the best school experience as possible and as always, we are extremely grateful to the Ladies of the Elks for their continued support.”
Also benefiting from the funds raised by LOTE is the Pine Island Food Pantry who received a donation of $1,500.
“This donation comes to the pantry at a very critical time. The summer months tend to be very lean when it comes to donations and at the same time, the need increases substantially,” said pantry treasurer, Barbara La Plante. “During the summer, parents of school-age children face having to provide two additional meals a day that the kids would normally receive at school and can be quite a financial burden for some of these families. This donation will go a long way to help ease that burden.”
During the course of the season, from November through April, the more than 80 members of the Ladies of the Elks host five charitable events. The well-attended events that took place this season included a Holiday Cruise Wear Fashion Show, card parties, the Hot Flash Dance Troupe, Jeanna Bartolo who portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln and the Whirl into Spring Fashion Show. Other contributions presented by the Ladies of the Elks were to FISH which received $2,000, Camp Foggy Bottom which received $100, and a total of $1,600 for the Elks and Harry Anna Children’s Therapy program. In addition a donation of $180 for student needs at Pine Island Elementary School was presented earlier this year. The total of the donations made to the Pine Island community this season was $9,300.