Elks donate $2,000 to Beacon
The Greater Pine Island Elks Lodge #2781 was recently awarded a $2,000 Gratitude Grant from the Elks National Foundation for having met the National President’s per-member goal for giving to the ENF. The Lodge officers decided to donate that money to the Pine Island Beacon of H.O.P.E.
This grant must be used for local, charitable activities and is being donated to the Beacon of H.O.P.E. for its SAS (Students Achieving Success) program, which is aimed at helping “at-risk” students earn improved school grades and helping them gain self-confidence, improved behavior, stronger communication skills and an increased interest in school. The students are not charged a fee for this and, in turn, participate in a community service project on a quarterly basis to give back to the community.
The Elks National Foundation which was founded in 1928 and is the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Its mission is to help Elks build stronger communities. They fulfill this pledge by:
* “Investing in communities where Elks live and work”
* “Providing tomorrow’s leaders, our youth, with a healthy beginning”
* “Helping the state Elks associations accomplish their charitable objectives”
* “Funding Lodge projects that improve the quality of life in local Elks communities”
The foundation is supported through contributions which form a permanent endowment fund enabling the group to award scholarships, grants to individual communities, fund the hoop shoot and soccer shoot competitions, fund the drug awareness program and fund the Elks National Veterans Service program, to name a few. The foundation takes great pride in upholding the Elks strong tradition of serving the communities across the country.
Greater Pine Island Elks Lodge president Bob Hoogstra presented the check to Beacon of H.O.P.E. vice president Elsie Stearns.
“I want to thank you for this donation to the Beacon of H.O.P.E.,” Beacon director Betsy Haesemeyer said. “This money is earmarked for the kids’ programs. We just had a meeting on our summer program this morning and this money will go a long way towards needed supplies and planned field trips for our SAS (Students Achieving Success) programs.”