On Sept. 7, Kissimmee Elks Lodge #1873 held its annual public safety night honoring area first responders and the County Corrections Department. Pictured are Kissimmee Police Detective, Justin Lunsford; Osceola County Corrections Classification Specialist, Patricia Bollinger; Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, Joseph Santos; Saint Cloud Fire/Rescue Engineer, Marissa Garbade; Kissimmee Fire Department Engineer, Kris Klemm; and Osceola County Sheriff's Department Deputy, Chris Hall.
On July 30, West Citrus Elks Lodge #2693 presented the Citrus County Abuse Shelter (CASA) with a check for $750 from the Elks National Foundation Gratitude Grant. Presenting the donation to Deborah Peterson, program manager for CASA, is Exalted Ruler, Cindy Green.
On June 3, the Veterans Committee of Zephyrhills Elks Lodge #2731 donated toys to the lodge’s Feed the Kids program, the first day of this year’s program. The committee will continue to donate toys each Monday until the program is complete in August. The Feed the Kids program is in its fourth year at the lodge. Children and caretakers can visit the lodge for lunch Monday through Friday. The lodge also provides games for the children. Members also volunteer to read and help the kids with their reading. They have a library from which the kids can take books home. In the program’s first year, 500 were fed. Last year, the total was over 4,000, and this year’s goal is 5,000.
Donna Moyer, PER, coordinator for Zephyrhills Lodge’s Feed the Kids program, receives a donation of toys from the lodge Veterans Committee presented by Ken Fabiani, PER, Veterans Committee chairman.
On March 19, Zephyrhills Lodge donated $500 to the Zephyrhills JROTC for their basketball program. Shirley LeClair, Loyal Knight, and Ken Fabiani, Exalted Ruler, presented the check to Sgt. Smith.
On Feb. 12, Shirley Crawford of Zephyrhills Elks Lodge #2731 and Terry VanAlstine of New York’s Canojoharie-Fort Plain Elks Lodge #2621 delivered more than 170 pounds of pop tops to the Shriners Hospital in Tampa, Fla. Canojoharie Moose Lodge #853 also collected tabs. As always, the hospital was thankful for the donation which will be returned to them as cash to fund their programs.