On May 3, John DeLorenzo, president of the Zephyrhills Lions Club and a member of Zephyrhills Elks Lodge, presented a $2,500 check to the lodge before the Lions’ bingo games began. Every Tuesday the Lions Club bingo players hold a 50/50 raffle and donate half of the proceeds to local charities. The bingo players raised this money for Zephyrhills Lodge’s Feed the Kids summer program. The Elks received a grant for three years to feed the kids every summer, but this year the grant is no longer available to the program, so this donation could not have come at a better time. Anyone with children can participate in the program. This year’s program began June 6 and will end Aug. 5. To-go meals are provided at the lodge Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11-1. Every other Wednesday, craft packages are distributed, which consist of projects for various holidays, like Father's Day and Fourth of July, as well as crafts for anti-bullying and drug awareness. The other Wednesdays will feature a new part of the program called Park & Play, held in the parking lot. There are games for the kids to play and books to read, and dictionaries and schools supplies in backpacks are given out before the school year begins.
Pictured with the check are Gwen Klamer, Elk volunteer; David Moyer, Leading Knight; Donna Moyer, Elks program chair; John DiLorenzo, Lions president; Jay Klamer, Exalted Ruler; Anne MacDonald, Elk volunteer; and Wayne Page, Elks trustee. Not pictured is Christine Malone, Lions Club treasurer.