Eustis Elks purchased, smoked and provided 170 fully cooked 10-12 lb. turkeys at no charge to 11 local schools to distribute to their student families in need. The local 4H also provided the schools with a grocery bag with each turkey filled with all items needed for a full Thanksgiving dinner. Another 230 turkeys were smoked and made available to lodge and community members at a very low cost. This is an annual lodge program and involves several hundred member hours. School representatives picked up their turkeys Nov. 21 and the rest were sold Nov. 26.
On Dec. 20, Eustis Elks Lodge held its annual children’s Christmas party. There were approximately 100 kids attending, including members’ children and grandchildren under 13 years of age and patients and their families from Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services. The lodge spent more than $3,000 to fund the party’s games, food and a significant toy gift for each child. The Drug Awareness committee set up the basketball game and that was very popular for the kids.