L-R: Elks Susan Smythe, Karen Emerson, Windham teacher Lindsey Pettus, Elk Kim Toppi, Principal Kyle Rhoades, Admin Sandra Vujanic
For the fourth year, the Portland Elks Lodge #188 has held a School Supply Drive in August, coordinated by the Lodge’s Activity Committee. Three schools were selected to receive supplies: Presumpscot School in Portland, Village Elementary School in Gorham, and Windham Primary in Windham. With the use of a $4,000 Beacon Grant, and more than $1,400 worth of supplies donated by Lodge members, each school received approximately $1,800 worth of supplies.
The school principals are contacted and asked what “special items” they could use in their school to help teachers out and these items were purchased with the Beacon Grant. Requests included: board games for after school, sweatpants/sweatshirts, clean underwear and socks, snowpants, adult scissors and staplers for all 50 classrooms, puzzles, widgets, play doh, etc etc. Our Lodge members donated the pencils, crayons, notebooks, colored paper, colored pencils, glue sticks, erasers, and so much more.
In addition to the school supplies, each school received 125 Drug Awareness Bags for their Third graders.
Groups of members from the Lodge helped sort all the supplies, pack boxes and cars, collate drug awareness bags, and make the deliveries to the schools the week of September 17.