Gwen Williams, Basia Bills, Laura Lumley, Dave McLeod and Pat Ohman
On Sunday, May 19, 2012, Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) held a festive carnival for Pediatric Oncology Patients and their families who are supported by Orange County Foundation for Oncology Children and Families (“OCF-OCF”). On this day, the children and their families could enjoy time away from the effects of their illnesses and chemotherapy, radiation and other medical treatments.
After greetings from Batman, Superwoman, pirates and a clown, the children and their families gazed upon a ceiling filled with “clouds of colored balloons”. All children and their families were provided with a tote bag and a t-shirt with figures of two children holding hands saying, “We Have Friends at The Mission Viejo Elks Lodge”.
Elk Member Ray Mallen Spins the Wheel
The children quickly found the Elks Lodge patio and the colorful tent canopies where they immersed themselves into typical carnival games. At all of the game stations, each child won a prize for participation in that game. The animals from Saga Creek Petting Zoo of Trabuco Canyon were a big hit! Children could pet an adult and baby goat, a pig, a rabbit, baby chicks and baby ducks. The children also enjoyed a bounce house, crafts and face painting. Even some parents had their face painted.
All attendees enjoyed typical carnival food: lemonade, “Sno-Kones”, cotton candy, chicken fingers, corn dogs, French fries and sweets. In addition to game prizes and upon their departure, each child picked out a “special” gift from a selection of Nintendo DS games; Dolls (Barbie, Cinderella and Prince, etc); action figures; Disney Vinylmations; DVDs (Madagascar, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Spiderman, Quantum of Silence, GoldenEye, etc.), books and other assorted prizes.
Alyssa Santiago; Hannah Davis; Gaby Spoonhauer; Brenda Hohnstein; Stephanie Bongartz; Stephen and Abelle Davis; Michelle, Addison, Drew and Bailey Spoonhauer
Event chairperson Stephanie Bongartz said, “Some of these children have been undergoing treatment for up to five years. It is heartwarming to see a child from a previous year return to the carnival with a full head of hair.” Last October, Stephanie chaired a fund raising dinner at the Elks Lodge to help pay for this event. Additional funds for this event came from the Elks Lodge Bingo operation, Bongo Ink of Lake Forest and other fund raising events involving individual Elks Lodge members. Ninety (90) volunteers including fifteen (15) youth from Saddleback Valley area schools helped run the event.
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty-three (43) 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 145 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
Hal Mattson, Lodge Publicity
