Veterans

“So long as there are Veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.”

On the 4th Thursday of every month the High Point Elks Lodge travels to the VA Hospital in Salisbury NC.  This is a tradition our Lodge has preformed for many years. The patients play bingo while the Ladies Auxiliary make sandwich plates and the Elk members pass out prizes for the bingo winners.  The entire venture from start to finish takes about 3 hours. In July there is a watermelon cutting, in November they come to our Lodge for Thanksgiving dinner, and in December there is a Christmas Wish Tree and presents donated are taken to them for Christmas.

In the past several years we have had great chairmen, but it still takes the efforts of our members to keep this going. Everything is donated. The Ladies Auxiliary makes 6 loafs of sandwiches each month and send volunteer women to serve them. The Lodge provides chips, drinks, bananas, prizes for the bingo winners, and volunteer members to pass out prizes. However we continue to see the same faces month after month volunteering their time. We need help! This is one of the most rewarding 3 hours you ever will spend! The veterans are so grateful to us for what we do. Can you imagine that they are “grateful to us” after they have put their lives on the line for us to protect our country and families??

Beth Hawks is this year’s committee Chairman for the Lodge as well as the committee Chairwoman for the Ladies Auxiliary.

PLEASE VOLUNTEER!
ANYONE AND EVERYONE INCLUDING CHILDREN WELCOME

Please call to volunteer today, or if you are called upon please don’t hesitate to just say yes.

Beth Hawks: 336.688.2063

Transportation is provided. Volunteers leave the lodge at 5:30 pm and arrive back at the lodge before 9:00pm.  Fun will be had by all while traveling.

Drop off donated items at the lodge. There is a collection box in the Ladies Auxiliary lounge. Items needed for prizes:  socks, diabetic candy, playing cards, cross word and word search puzzles books, and magazines.

To learn more about how you can help on a national level go to: http://www.elks.org/vets

Serving Our Veterans

Hello fellow Elks, my name is Beth Hawks, VA Committee Chairman for the Lodge. I hope all of you are, like me, looking forward to warmer weather and the coming opening of the pool! This is just an update on what our great Lodge has done and continues to do for our men and women of the Armed Forces and our Veterans.

In November 2007, Steven Hall, our Lodge Esquire, was called up to serve with some hundred other Army and Navy Reserves.  Just before shipping out, however, numerous members and family members of our Lodge went to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville to give them all a proper send off. We cooked hamburgers and hotdogs for these brave soldiers and I know I can speak on behalf of ALL that were there that we were honored to be in their presence and humbled at the same time for their sacrifice.

Many husbands, wives, and other family members were there and it was incredibly touching to say the least. I personally want to say “hats off” to all who helped and every one of you who know that these kinds of events are what make this Lodge a special place to be involved in.

We have a plaque in our foyer from Steve’s mother Carolyn personally thanking this Lodge for their visit and our continued support. There is also a commemorative plaque from these brave soldiers (including a group picture) in the foyer as well. Feel free to take a look at both plaques when you get chance.

Feel free to contact me if you want to get involved with the VA Committee. We participate in numerous, worthwhile events every year including:

VA Hospital Visit: Every 4th Thursday of the month we go down to Salisbury to serve dinner and meet many of our Veterans. We leave around 6:15 PM and return around 8:30PM. Ask people who have gone and they will tell you it was a blast!

Veteran Thanksgiving Dinner: Each November we serve Veterans from all over a wonderful dinner here at the Lodge. Last year we had incredible participation from our Lodge members and their families and the Veterans were very appreciative.

Veterans Christmas Visit: How about 10 to 12 young people singing Christmas Carols to our Veterans in each VA Hospital wing with donated gifts to boot!! Absolutely wonderful!

The list goes on and hopefully will with continued effort from our volunteers and members but we would love more help so please get involved!

Thanks to everyone who has supported these events in the past and continue to do so. Hopefully we can get more members and their families involved the remainder of this year. The moments and memories are long lasting, I can tell you.

Fraternally,

Beth Hawks
VA Committee Chairman
Ladies Auxiliary VA Chairman