By John Calvert
Oak Ridge Lodge Number 1684 of the Benevolent and Protective Order for Elks, or BPOE, is celebrating its 70th birthday this week. The lodge was formally chartered on July 11, 1946.
Many people have probably passed by the local lodge located at the corner of Emory Valley Road and Briarcliff Avenue many times and wondered: Who are the Elks and what do they do?
Oak Ridge Lodge 1684 is one of the nearly 2,000 BPOE lodges located across the country that have a combined membership of nearly 800,000 members. The Elks organization was founded in New York City on February 16, 1868, under the name “Jolly Corks” by 15 actors, entertainers, and others associated with the theater. In ensuing years, membership expanded to other professions.
The Order spends more than $80,000,000 every year for benevolent, educational, and patriotic community-minded programs. These may be in such fields as benefiting physically handicapped 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. For many years the Elks were second only to the federal government in the dollar amount of college scholarships awarded annually.
Elks invest in their communities through programs that help children grow up healthy and drug-free, by undertaking projects that address unmet need, and by honoring the service and sacrifice of our veterans.
Some examples of what Elks do include the Elks in Alexandria, Virginia, holding a soup kitchen at the Lodge each weekday at lunch, serving 30 people, many of whom are veterans. The Wheeling, West Virginia, Elks Lodge hosts local youth once a week for a wholesome meal. They also provide homework help and invite community leaders to speak at the meals. The Elks in Lockport, New York, provide an annual weeklong summer camp tailored to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
The Oak Ridge Elks have conducted numerous charitable functions over the years. In 2015, lodge members held the following functions:
Drug Awareness and Youth Activities
- In June, the Elks hosted their third annual Drug Awareness Day at the Municipal Pool. Committee members partnered with Anderson County Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, Anderson County Sherriff’s Department K9 Unit, Oak Ridge Parks and Recreation Department, TWRA, and Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition in providing free demonstrations, toys, and literature on the bad effects of drugs and alcohol. The Elks provided free pool admission to 241 children on that day.
- Sponsored STEM fall break camps for the girls at Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge. The girls enjoyed trips to ORNL, Cinemark Theater, Tri-County Roller Arena, the MUSE, and the Fruit and Berry Patch.
- Hosted its third annual “Drugs are Scary†indoor trick-or-treat in the Lodge room. This activity provided a safe, supervised place for children of to have fun, receive candy, and show off their costumes. There were more than 800 people in attendance along with Elroy the Elk.
Serving the Community
- Lodge members transformed the lodge’s banquet/Lodge room into a “Hollywood Nights†themed setting as it held it’s second annual Prom Night for the clients, staff and caregivers from Emory Valley Center.
- Lodge members hosted a bowling party for the adult clients from Emory Valley Center and provided them with pizza for lunch.
Community Outreach: - Lodge members utilized the Elks Community Outreach Grant funding to adopt 15 veteran residents from the Ben Atchley State Veterans Home in order to purchase items on their Christmas wish list. Lodge members went above and beyond by spending an approximated amount of $91 per resident, spending a total of $1,363.67.
Other charitable functions conducted during the past few years have included:
- Collected donations to contribute $300 to the Ben Atchley State Veterans Home adjustable beautician/barber sink fund.
- Collected donations to give $600 to the Volunteer State Honor Guard in order to provide new brakes and general maintenance for their vans.
- Collected $230 in donations to give to the Oak Ridge Holiday Bureau.
- Participated in “Can Underage Drinking†campaign by collecting non-perishable food items to donate to a local food banks.
- Donated $250 to Oak Ridge High School Graduation Celebration.
- Hosted Veterans Day dinner and dance. All veterans and their spouses enjoyed a free dinner and dancing during the evening. The Volunteer State Honor Guard served as the special guest.
- Prepared and delivered meals to 25 veteran residents at Patriot Park Assisted Living.
- Presented a local middle school student with a certificate and a $25 VISA gift card for his winning entry in the local Elks Drug Awareness Poster Contest.
- Provided red ribbons and drug awareness stickers to the students and staff at both Jefferson and Robertsville middle schools during Red Ribbon Week.
- Participated in the City of Oak Ridge Christmas parade for the seventh consecutive year. Youth volunteers handed out candy printed with an anti-drug message. They also enjoyed a pizza party back at the Lodge after the parade and were given Elks Drug Awareness sweatshirts to wear to school.
- Hosted an Elks “Youth Hoop Shoot†activity at the Boys and Girls Club. In this event, the winners had the opportunity to advance to the district, state, regional, and national competitions with all travel expenses for the contestant and parents provided by the Elks.
- Hosted Pinewood Derby Boy Scout Activity at the Lodge.
- Hosted a meet-the-candidate’s event for the Oak Ridge City Council election.
- Provided $750 donation to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.
- Provided $750 donation to St. Judes Children’s Hospital.
- Provided a new storage building for the Oak Ridge Agape House.
The four cardinal principles of the Elks are charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity. Accordingly. it is estimated that, during the past 70 years, members of the Oak Ridge Elks had donated nearly $1 million in charitable donation funds and member volunteer hours aimed at helping its community be a great place to live. The above listed events are from just the past two years of the Lodge’s history and serve as examples of what the Oak Ridge Elks have been doing silently and behind the scenes in our community for the past 70 years.
So, for those many people who have passed by the Oak Ridge Elks Lodge and wondered who the Elks were and what they did, now you know. The secret is out. Elks Care. Elks Share!
In addition to having the opportunity to work on various charitable events and functions members of the lodge and their families can also enjoy the lodge facilities where they can have a meal from the buffet or ordered from the menu at its full-service restaurant. They can also enjoy a cocktail at its large lounge, watch sports on its giant screen TV, or just relax, visit, and socialize.
The lodge is always looking for new members wishing to participate in the great charitable works and events it provides for the community. We’d love to give those interested a tour of our nice facility. Anyone wanting to know more about the Oak Ridge Elks can call the lodge at (865) 483-3510. For more information on the Elks, you can visit the website at www.elks.org.
John Calvert is past president of Oak Ridge Elks Lodge #1684.
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