Photo by Elks Lodge Staff Photographer
(L to r): Imprinting 4,300 books are Shirley and Frank Gunning; Jim Humphrey and Jerry Gross.
ELKS LODGE READIES 4,300 DICTIONAIRES FOR DELIVERY TO THIRD GRADERS
Eighteen (18) members of Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) prepared 4,300 dictionaries for delivery to third graders. The imprinting of, “Compliments of the Mission Viejo, Saddleback Valley Elks”, is just the first step in this year’s program of delivering the books to the third graders of the Saddleback Valley schools over the coming several months.
The next step is transporting the books to the schools where each dictionary is personally presented to each third grader. In an entertaining twenty-minute presentation, a team of Elks Lodge member volunteers explain the contents of the book, which is much more than a dictionary. It contains valuable additional information much like an encyclopedia. The student is told that the dictionary is a gift for them to keep as an aid to their education. For many, the dictionary is the very first book that is their very own. Teachers have praised the effort saying that the third-grade is when children begin reading to learn rather than learning to read.
Elks Lodge Dictionary Chairman Pat Martino said, “This is the 5th year the Elks have participated in our Dictionary Project. Including this year’s distribution, the total dictionaries donated by the Elks Lodge to Saddleback Valley third graders exceeds 22,000. Our Elks Lodge receives thousands of thank you letters from students, parents and teachers every year. This is one of the most rewarding projects I have had the pleasure to lead.”
Funding for the project comes from Elks Lodge Wednesday night Bingo and member contributions. For more information on the Elks Lodge Dictionary Project or membership information call (949) 830-3557.
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ELKS LODGE COMPLETES LOCAL HOOP SHOOT COMPETITION
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) announced that it had a great showing for its recent Hoop Shoot competition.
Eighty (80) participants, twenty-four (24) girls and fifty-six (56) boys, tested their skills in shooting twenty-five (25) free throws. Pat Martino, Elks Lodge Orange Coast District Hoop Shoot Chairman, informed all the winners from Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Ladera Ranch in the 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 age brackets that they are invited to participate in the district competition to be held in Santa Ana on January 7, 2012. The district competition will include competitors from the ten Elk Lodges in the Orange Coast District. Winners of the district competition will be invited to go to the state finals and then, if successful, to the regional and national finals. The national winners in each of the three girl and boy age brackets will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Elks National Foundation provides all travel and housing costs for the competitors.
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty one (41) years of service to the Saddleback Valley communities, is one of ten lodges in the Orange Coast District of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) whose headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. The BPOE is a charitable organization with a 143 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
Charity Big Bucks Bingo
Public Invited
The Mission Viejo /Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 is holding its Wednesday night Charity Big Bucks Bingo on the following evenings:
Wednesday, December 7, 2011; Starts 6:15 PM
Wednesday, December 14, 2011; Starts 6:15 PM
Wednesday, December 21, 2011; Starts 6:15 PM
Mission Viejo /Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444
25092 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo 92692
Phone: (949) 830-3557
Elks Charity Bingo fund raiser for benefit of youth, vets, special kids, police, firefighters and other groups in the South Orange County and Saddleback Valley communities.
Hal Mattson, Lodge Publicity
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444
