NEWS

The Wells Elks Lodge may be small with only 71 members but is a powerhouse in their community. The Elks National Foundation (ENF) recently announced that the Lodge will be receiving a coveted Impact Grant through their Community Investment Program. This is a highly competitive grant offered by the ENF which are designed to set a standard of excellence in community leadership through service through volunteerism.  Only 14 Lodges in the country will receive one of these grants in 2024.

The Wells Lodge will be receiving a $10,000 grant for their “Elks Caring for the Caregiver Program;” a program that seeks to provide emotional, social, and material support for adult caregivers in their community. The support group will meet monthly at the Lodge where caregivers will receive educational sessions and caregiver essential tips. Speakers will be brought in for a variety of topics such as stress management, nutrition elder law, Medicaid planning, basic first aid and CPR, medication management, and more.

This idea was brought to the Wells Elks Lodge after at least three of their own lodge members were experiencing this lack of finding support through 2021-2023. These Elks members and new Caregivers were caring for diagnosed family members of dementia and cancer. After hearing their stories detailing the amount of care and lack of support, some members took it upon themselves to start researching and finding financial and emotional support for their fellow Elks in their time of need. This opened up a wider discussion to see if this was a community wide issue. During the Lodge’s discussions with residents, home health care owners/aides and members of the local Elder Abuse Task Force they found that there was definitely a lack of education for new Caregivers as well as the need for a support group with evening hours available. In addition, the Lodge researched and found statistics on caregiver financial strain which was also confirmed in talking with the Elks members that were currently going through this. Currently, according to the CDC 20% of the population of the United States provide caregiving services for a friend or family, and according to AARP, those caregivers provide over $600 Billion in volunteer service, so being a caregiver has become an important need in this country. The Wells Elks Lodge is doing its part to help support those caregivers through this program.

The Wells Lodge joins the Augusta Lodge in being the only two Lodges in Maine to receive an Impact Grant. The Augusta Lodge is currently receiving a renewal of its impact grant for supporting local teenagers through their “Edge Program,” which is the second of two Impact grants the Augusta Lodge received: the first being a program in support of the Augusta Boys & Girls Club.

Impact grants are not the only grants offered by the Elks National Foundation. The ENF also offers Elk Lodges four other grants including the Beacon Grant, Spotlight Grant, Freedom Grant, and Gratitude Grant, each with their own requirements and uses to support communities across the country. Statewide, the Elk Lodges in Maine have received $117,500 to support their communities, helping to show that Elks Care–Elks Share. For more information on these grant programs, visit Resources (elks.org).

The Elks National Foundation’s (ENF) Fidelity Club automated donation program has made a big impact on the Elk programs, including the Scholarship, Hoop Shoot, Veterans, and Community Investment Grant programs. Here is what the ENF Has been able to accomplish through Fidelity Club contributions over the past year:

• $59,204 for Scholarships of which 898 were given out through the ENF’s Scholarship programs.
• 587 Elk Scholars served with an Elks Lodge to continue the Elks legacy of Charity.
• 22 Elk Scholars served on a winter service trip to Florida to help communities impacted by Hurricane Ian
• $12,401 for the Elks Hoop Shoot program where 110,749 kids participated nationally, of which 72 made it to the National Finals.
• $34,101 was used to support the Community Investment Grant Programs, where 83% of all Elk Lodges received at least one grant to help build stronger communities. Some of those grants were used to fund reading programs that teach children disaster emotional and social readiness,
• $130,646 was used to support Veterans, including 2,312 Welcome Home Kits for homeless veterans.
• $800,467 was used to support all Elk programs.

The Fidelity Club was created just over 16 years ago to make it easy for members to automatically contribute to the Elks National Foundation on a monthly basis. The Club’s goal is for 5-10% of all ENF Donors to participate.  Last year, a total of 4.9% of ENF Donors were members of the Fidelity Club, and nearly half (46%) of all Elk Lodges have at least 5% of their donors in this program. Currently, the Fidelity Club receives over $1 Million Dollars in donations by Elks across the country.

Signing up for the program is easy, safe, and secure, and YOU determine how much you would like to contribute each month. (Minimum donation is $5 per month). Once you sign up, you can increase, modify, or cancel your donations at any time. There are a few benefits to the program that you will receive, including a fidelity club sticker, your name is added to the Fidelity Club “Honor Roll,” accessible through Elks.org, and a Fidelity Club Pin, along with attachments based on the number of consecutive donations you provide. If you are going to the Grand Lodge Convention, you will be invited to attend “Bagels with the Board” which is an open-house breakfast where you have the opportunity to meet other Fidelity Club members from around the country and meet with members of the Elks National Foundations Board of Trustees.

MEA Past State President Al Ingraham and Past First Lady Stephanie were recently featured on Elks.org for their support of the Elks National Foundation and the Fidelity Club. You can read about their accomplishments here: news (elks.org)

To sign up for the Fidelity Club, visit here: Make a Recurring Gift – Elks National Foundation
Fidelity Club members generosity puts money directly into ENF programs and out into Elks communities. When you join, you become a sustaining force for the Elks’ legacy of Charity. Every Elk member is encouraged to participate, as the program makes it easy to show that Elks Care–Elks Share by giving to the great heart of Elkdom.