Fairfield Elks donate to TreeHouse

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Elks Lodge announced that it has awarded a $3,000 grant to an organization that seeks to “end hopelessness among teens.”

The Elks awarded the money, a Community Investment Grant, to TreeHouse Inc., a national organization with a chapter in Fairfield. According to the organization’s website, TreeHouse’s sites host programs that give teens a “safe space to find support and belonging” through mentorships, retreats and other activities.

Doug Bagby, past exalted ruler of Fairfield Elks who is also the Elks National Foundation chairperson, said the Elks concentrates on helping youth and veterans. He said he’s happy Elks can support an organization like TreeHouse.

“TreeHouse is a place you can go just to hang out, where nobody judges you,” Bagby said. “Because of social media or bullying, you can feel left out if you’re an outsider. It’s important to have adults as mentors to help you deal with adversity.”

Bagby said the local chapter of TreeHouse moved into its own home on North 16th Street after previously being housed in The Well on South Main Street. He said he hopes the organization can get some help with expenses, such as its van in need of repairs, a new computer, and a new portable sound system and projector to show movies.

This Community Investment Grant from the Elks National Foundation is just one of many ways in which the Fairfield Elks helps community members. The group just completed its annual “Shop with a Hero” in December, where 50 underprivileged children were selected to go shopping with a first responder, such as a firefighter or law enforcement officer. Each child got a $50 gift card, which they could use to buy gifts for themselves, or a family member.

After the shopping spree, the kids and their families were treated to a pizza party at the Fairfield Elks Lodge on the west side of the square. Santa Claus was there to entertain them, and the families got a $125 food voucher to Hy-Vee so they could purchase a holiday meal. Families also took home a tray of Christmas cookies and bars.

Last October, the Fairfield Elks planted 17 trees in O.B. Nelson Park on the south side of Fairfield. Funding for the tree planting came from a Beacon Grant through the Elks National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The Elks have received this grant every year since 2013, and have used it to plant trees wherever they are most needed in Fairfield’s city parks.

“We leave it up to [Parks Director] Pam Craff as to where to plant the trees,” Bagby said. “Next year, it could be somewhere else.”

Another event the Elks did last fall was to donate dictionaries to every third-grader at Fairfield, Pekin and Van Buren. Bagby said the book not only includes a dictionary but also information about history, science and a section on sign language.

“Teachers like this because it gets students to dig into their dictionaries,” Bagby said.

Fairfield Elks works with local schools to promote Red Ribbon Week in October, a drug awareness program.

“We have a lot of help from law enforcement to do a whole week of activities,” Bagby said.

The Elks also run an annual event called the “Hoop Shoot,” where girls and boys ages 8-13 compete to be the best free-throw shooter in their grade. The local winners advance to the state level, or even the national level. That event is open to students from Fairfield, Pekin and Van Buren.

Fairfield Elks honors veterans in multiple ways, one of those is through a Veterans Day soup supper. Another way is to assist in the Flag Day program hosted in Central Park after the Greater Jefferson County Fair Parade in June.

The organization’s next event is the annual Elks National Foundation fundraising breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 11. The event will last from 7-11 a.m. at the Elks Lodge, where the public is invited for pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, coffee, milk and juice. The price is $12 for an all-you-can-eat buffet, and the proceeds will go to the Elks National Foundation.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com