The Elks Charities

Elks National Foundation

Elks National Foundation "The Great Heart of Elkdom" was started in 192 as a permanent trust fund. Only the interest from this endowed fund is used. Today the principal is approximately $430 million. The income from this fund is used to help state associations in charitable work such as Scholarships, Drug Awareness, Hoop Shoot Veterans Services, and Major Projects. This year they will disperse more than 15.5 Million for those programs.

Camp Wawbeek

Madison Elks Lodge #410 along with the other thirty two elks Lodges in the State of Wisconsin, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Elks Association and the Easter Seal Association build and continue to support this facility which was established in 1938 to give children and adults with disabilities a chance to hike, swim, lean about nature, try new adventures, and challenges in an accessible environment. the Respite Center, established in 1992, provides trained-staff to care for children and adults ages 3 and over, with sever disabilities, who require care or supervision 24/7. the Respite Center is unique in that it is the one program in Wisconsin that provides over night, one-on-one care, and it accepts campers with severe and multiple-disabilities who are turned away by many other facilities. The camping experience taps into everyone's ability level. Counselors work one-on-one with campers to meet all their personal needs. Leisure and recreational activities are planned in a safe environment, and include arts and crafts, hiking, storytelling, and other activities based on the interests, needs and abilities of campers.

Elks Hoop Shoot

Each year the Madison Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot Committee sends out invitations to surrounding grade school athletes ages 8 to 13, to sign up and participate in the hoop shoot competition. Participants from the area join 31,000 youngsters from across Wisconsin and over 3 million nationwide to participate. Winners in each age group for boys and girls are invited to the State Level Hoop Shoot. State Level winners are invited to compete in the National Hoop Shoot event. the names of the national winners are inscribed on a plaque at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. Expenses are paid for these young athletes, and their parents, to compete at the State and National Level. There are no losers in this competition even though some are not given a trophy, all competitors and their parents, are truely winners just because they came out to the gym and gave the best they could.

Just Say No To Drugs

Founded in 1983, the Elks Drug Awareness Education Program is a logical extension of the Elks long standing commitment to youth activities. The program is designed to impart knowledge of the drug use to youths and their parents through various programs. Over 250 million pieces of literature have been distributed at no charge.

Each year the Elks sponsor over 7,000 programs reaching 6 million children and 2 million parents.

The Madison Elks Lodge Drug Awareness Committee participants in several city-wide events during which packets of literature are distributed to parents and children. Children are also encouraged to participate in a hoop shoot to win prizes (everybody wins something), including water bottles, Frisbee, sun glasses, kick balls, flashlights, and many other gifts all bearing our drug Awareness message relating to the dangers of illegal drugs. Because it's impossible to tell who is at risk, our motto is, Save the world, one child at a time."

"So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them."

WWI

The Elks patriotism and generosity helped the nation to victory in WWI. In 1917, the Grand Lodge created the War Relief Commission and endowed it with $2 million to finance activities. The commission organized and equipped the first two base hospitals to reach France. To accommodate the maimed and wounded, the Elks built a 700-bed Reconstruction Hospital and gave it to the war department in 1918. That same year, the Order Build a 72-room Community House to take care of the families visiting the 40,000 soldiers stationed at Camp Sherman, Ohio.

WWII

In 1942, the Adjutant General asked for help in recruiting 45,000 men for Air Corps ground crews. The Elks responded and set up a program that recruited 97,000 men. The Elks made 40,000 rehabilitation, vocational and educational loans to disabled veterans who were ineligible for government help or were waiting approval of their applications for assistance. The GI Bill, which makes funds available to veterans for educations, had its genesis from this Elks program

Korean War

During the Korean War, the Secretary of Defense appealed to the Order for help in procuring blood for our wounded. Within a few months, the Elks Lodges obtained more than half a million pints.

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, the Defense Department was concerned with the morale of our 400,000 troops. While these troops were fighting communists aggression, anti-American sentiment was being reported on the home front. After much discussion it was decided that a "Letters from Home" campaign would help counteract the negative acts emanating from this county. The Elks again answered the call and flooded these fine young defenders of freedom letters expressing our gratitude for the sacrifices they were making for our country.

Flag Day

Patriotism has also been a hallmark of the Elks. In 1907, the Elks became the first organization in the nation to mandate observance fof june 14th as Flag Day. More than 40 years later, fellow Elk, President Harry Truman signed an Order declaring Flag Day as an official holiday.