Elks Lodge Member Lloyd Bryan, Air Force Veteran Charles Malloy and Carol Bryan
SIX ELKS LODGES BRING CHRISTMAS TO HOSPITALIZED VETS
Sixteen volunteers from Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) joined Elks volunteers from Fullerton, Newport Harbor, Orange, Santa Ana and Westminster to deliver Christmas joy to over 65 vets at the Long Beach Veterans hospital. Mike Mathers (Fullerton), District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler and Frank Sellers (Orange), Elks Veteran’s District Chair also attended this holiday event.
Elk volunteers brought sandwiches, cheese trays, 8 dozen homemade cookies, pies, punch and coffee to the hospitalized veterans. In the common room, over 40 veterans played bingo for $300 in cash prizes. Santa joined the Elk volunteers to distribute 12 boxes of clothing, shoes and jackets. Additionally, 25 Christmas lap robes and gift bags were hand delivered to veterans in the Spinal Injury Ward. The total value of items delivered to the hospitalized veterans exceeded $1,200.
Members of the Elks have a strong commitment to veterans, “So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.”
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
