ELKS LODGE RAISES OVER $4,000 FOR PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY PATIENTS
John & Kay Devine (OCF-OCF), Stephanie Bongartz (Elks Lodge Member & Event Organizer), Karen Jones and Mary Sullivan (OCF-OCF
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) hosted a Costume Party and Silent Auction charity event to raise funds for Orange County Foundation for Oncology Children and Families (“OCF-OCF”). One hundred (100) people attended the event.
Loyal Knight Jason Spence and Wife Naomi
Dancing to the Music of Alter Ego were guests in costume as a Horse, a Show Girl, a mummy with Cleopatra, Little Red Riding Hood with the Big Bad Wolf and other assorted fantasy characters. The band joined in the fun dressed as a Biker, Phantom of the Opera, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Pirate and a Rock Star.
Lecturing Knight Camacho Alvarez and Wife Mary Ann
Donated gift baskets and raffle items were fantastic and included: a Wine Country Gift Basket, Yosemite Getaway, Seattle Marriott Getaway, USC Tailgating Basket and many more items. The dinner was hosted (donated) by Outback Steakhouse of Laguna Hills. Eddie from Alter Ego donated his time and the other four band members performed at a reduced rate. The Elks Lodge Bingo charity fund paid for event expenses so that OCF-OCF would receive a larger charity donation from the Elks Lodge.
Entertainers Alter Ego
Event organizer and Elks Lodge member Stephanie Bongartz thanked the other Elks Lodge and OCF-OCF volunteers that made this charity event possible: Pam Mackay, Naomi Sanchez, Kay Devine (OCF-OCF), Pat Ohman, Laura Lumley and Bill Bongartz.
Commenting on the event, Stephanie Bongartz said, “The research doctors continue to make miraculous progress in discovering new cures and treatments for pediatric oncology patients. The funds raised by this charity event will be used next spring to augment pediatric oncology medical care with a spirit lifting and fun carnival for pediatric oncology patients and their families.”
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty two (42) 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 144 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
Hal Mattson, Lodge Publicity
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444
Photos by Andy Costello and Dennis Lumley
