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Written by Lakewood Ranch-Sarasota Elks

On Oct. 23, Lakewood Ranch-Sarasota Elks Lodge #2855 held a Homes for Our Troops fundraiser at the lodge with a spaghetti dinner and talent show. More than 130 members of the lodge and the public attended and raised over $5,000. Homes for Our Troops is a publicly funded nonprofit organization that builds and donates adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 veterans to enable them to rebuild their lives. Pictured is Tom Sweeney, Lodge Veterans Chair; Michael Monthervil, a veteran recipient of a home in Florida; and Jerry Ditty, Exalted Ruler.

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Written by Judy Wise

On Oct. 25, PER Bob Roderick and his wife, Doris, of Plant City Elks Lodge #1727 purchased and donated a 65-inch TV to the Plant City Boys & Girls Club. Lodge members Tony Rivera, Mark Henderson and Ed Wise hung the large TV on the wall for the kids. Ed Wise, lodge trustee, reaped the benefits of attending a club in his youth so he knows firsthand the clubs’ benefits to children, and he is an advocate. He had visited the Plant City Boys & Girls Club and was amazed how much the club was in need and how little money the club had. There are 96 kids who go to the club after school each day. Their TV was broken and they did not have any books. Half of their 10 laptops used for the children to do their homework were broken. Ed Wise and Shelly Carroll, Leading Knight and Elks National Foundation Grant Coordinator, are working to obtain a grant to be able to offer the much-needed financial support. In the meantime, the lodge members are doing their best to offer assistance. One member’s neighbor donated 300 books. Ed Wise and several members built bookcases and are working with the city to try to get mulch for their playground. Member Judy Wise said they had no idea how much help is needed and see this as the beginning of building a lasting relationship with the club and a way to help their local youth.

Pictured are Tony Rivera, Mark Henderson and Ed Wise about to hang the TV.

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Written by Lakeland Elks

Lakeland Elks Lodge #1291 has a long-standing history of supporting veterans at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital through donations and providing 400 barbecue lunches for the veterans and staff members. However, this past year has been a challenge. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the hospital is guarded on what can be accepted. As a result, Lakeland Lodge got creative. On Oct. 2, members packed 72 backpacks for the hospital’s veterans. Each backpack had a blanket, socks and toiletries.  They were presented to the veterans Nov. 1. This project was led by Char Fisher. The money to support this project is from the Elks National Foundation Freedom Grant along with lodge fundraisers. Members pictured are Sandy Fuschetti; Ann Murray, PER; Penny Deig; Alice Murray; Nancy Read; Deanne Crosby; Marie Crosby; Char Fisher; Christy Frady and Vickie Crosby.

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Written by Rita Smith

Tampa Lodge donated $200 toward Troop #399’s Ashton Offutt’s Eagle Scout project. On Sept. 18 at 9 a.m. an Eagle Scout court of honor was held, and as it rained during a good bit of the ceremony, all were appreciative of Offutt’s project — 10 well-constructed benches protected by a shade/inclement weather canvas cover at Claywell Elementary. Offutt was presented with a Grand Lodge Eagle Scout certificate during the ceremony. Offutt is pictured with elementary school teacher Jenny Paloumpis, his school liaison for his Eagle Project. Also pictured are Frank Smith Sr., Tampa Elks scouting liaison; Ashton Offutt; and Tampa Elks Wendy Wiesler and George Hilficker.

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Written by Mary Lou Scribner, PER

On Oct. 2, Lakeland Elks Lodge members gathered to put together meals for kidsPACK to feed the local children of Lakeland. Normally the lodge packs 600 meals. However, this time, kidsPACK asked if the lodge could increase to 1,200 packs, as they would soon be out of meals. The lodge members along with some scouts were happy to comply. They even did it in record-breaking time —one hour and nine minutes. The lodge is able to offer this service to their community through the use of its Elks National Foundation Beacon Grant. This was the lodge’s sixth year of participation.

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Written by Kim Johnson, PER

Merritt Island Elks Lodge #2650 applied for and received an Elks National Foundation Focus Grant for $7,210 to make a difference for local veterans. Part of the grant money was used to With these funds, the food pantry in the Volunteers of America (VOA) building for the Veterans Transition Center in Cocoa, Florida, was expanded. This was done by Kermit Forbes, PER; John Welch and Gabriel Ensell, VOA directors and new lodge members; and Kim Johnson, PER. More refrigerators were moved into the area to provide perishable food and extra shelving was built so the pantry could carry more nonperishable food items. With the completion of this phase, Forbes is working on stocking the pantry. The second part of this grant is being used to help veterans living on the street. The lodge purchased 20 backpacks that will be stocked with face masks, hand sanitizer, socks, personal care items, hand towels, washcloths, an Ozark 11-in-1 camping tool, can openers and toilet paper. Food items will also be included. Before giving out these backpacks, the lodge wanted to let the veterans know who provided the backpacks and where they can go to refill their bags. Member Sue Hanson is a wizard with a sewing machine and created and added the Elks emblem and instructions on each bag to return to the VOA building to refill the backpacks.

Pictured working in the pantry Sept. 22 are Welch, Ensell and Forbes.

A close-up of a backpack with Hanson’s sewing

Kim Johnson, PER (left) and Kermit Forbes, PER (right), giving backpack serial number 001 to Clyde Smith Sept. 30.