By Janet Stoica

They are quietly working behind the scenes to donate tens of thousands of dollars to local organizations and charities in our area. Do you know them?  You’ve surely heard their name a few times or driven by their function hall on Route 12 in Auburn. They are the selfless and wonderful members of your local Elks organization and are truly one of the best of the best at what they do. 

There are hundreds of charitable groups in our area whose members actively seek out those who need their assistance and they are all very worthy of mention. Society’s givers are the greatest people you could ever meet and the Auburn Elks are one such chapter that stands proud. The Auburn Elks have a large membership. The Webster and Worcester chapters joined the Auburn group a few years ago and their membership now stands at over 1600 individuals. 

According to their website, “The National Order spends more than $80,000,000 every year for benevolent, educational, and patriotic community-minded programs in such fields as benefiting special needs children, sponsoring Elks National Foundation scholarships, scouting, athletic teams, veterans’ works, a national “Hoop Shoot” free-throw contest involving more than three million children, physical and occupational therapy programs, and patriotic programs.

The youth of our country have always been important to the Order. It is for this reason the Elks Drug Awareness Education Program was launched to warn primary grade students and their parents of the dangers in drug use. Additionally, every lodge observes June 14th as Flag Day, a tradition which the Elks began in 1907 and was later adopted by our U.S Congress as an official observance.” Personally, I will always remember my local Webster Elks chapter holding a June 14th Flag Day parade as members first held a flag ceremony at their School Street Lodge and then walked from School Street to Main and then to the Town Hall. Very patriotic and emotional.

This year on September 16, the Auburn Elks will have held their second annual Build A Bed event with a purpose of building beds for children in need. A great team-building initiative sponsored by the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness. Teams of three to four individuals are organized and take a pre-packaged kit of lumber and transform each kit into a simple and sturdy bed. Elks members and their families also donate bedding items such as pillows, sheet sets, comforters, and stuffed toys that will complete each comfy twin bed. The process is as amazing as the Elks. Since the program’s inception in 2012, volunteers from businesses, schools, and community organizations have put together over 4,000 beds for needy children. 

 “We have a grant committee that will determine how our funds will be used for the charities we support,” said Elks member Joe Camere. Each bed’s cost is $350 and we allocated $7,000 to make 20 beds. It was a great team-building event. The Build A Bed truck arrives with all the supplies and support we’ll need. It’s like we become IKEA (a Swedish company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture.)  We start at 9 a.m. and are finished a few hours later. Like their logo states ‘Every child deserves a place to dream.’ Such a rewarding experience. We reward our teams with an enjoyable cookout after everything is completed.”

The Elks are involved in so many charitable events the list is incredible. They are so quiet about it which makes us appreciate them and their actions even more. “We go to soldiers’ homes too,” said Mr. Camere, “we’ll provide summer cookouts and also donate $5,000 to stock up their company store for the veterans’ needs. We’ll have November pie socials and also visit for cookies and ice cream events. Playing bingo is always a fun activity too.  For our local children we’ll have a Safety Day joining with the Auburn Fire and EMS Departments to provide childrens’ bike helmets while educating them about bike safety and the DARE anti-drug program. We’ve donated to local high schools to help pay for student PSAT fees, sponsor Little League and Lassie Leagues. For the Webster school system, we donated $5,000 to purchase a Book Vending Machine that allows students to choose reward books.”

Mr. Camere explained that the Auburn Elks chapter also provides student dictionaries. “You’d be surprised at the number of thank you letters we receive from students who appreciate receiving their own personal dictionaries!” 

“Our local banquet hall does not charge a fee for local charitable events,” said Joe, “we’ll have Little League Banquets here as well as other charitable organization’s functions. Our grounds have even held Soccer and Basketball Shoots. If one of the local participants makes it to the Nationals, we pay all expenses for their families to attend the National event. For scholarships, our lodge alone gives six to seven. Our bingo nights’ income also helps pay for many of our donations.”

Many of the local Elks’ activities include a fall dart league, cribbage, pool league, bocce, and a horseshoe league. They also host Valentine’s Day dances and an adult and children’s holiday party. 

“I initially became involved with the Auburn Elks when I wanted to help provide Christmas baskets,” said Joe, “these baskets included a complete turkey dinner for a needy family. I soon found myself more involved by helping to put together Bravery Boxes for our veterans. These boxes contained personal items like razors, toothbrushes, socks, and underwear. They were given to vets who had served overseas.”   

Mr. Camere has been an Elks member for about 15 years. “I’d go to events and then decided to become a member,” he said, “I try to attend our monthly meetings as often as possible. Once you become an Elk and experience our activities and see what our goals are, you can’t help but become involved with your community. Helping people is what it’s all about.”

The Auburn Elks are located at 754 Southbridge Street, Auburn MA 01501. 

Phone: (508) 832-9303 or visit elks.org    

Contact Janet:  [email protected]