If someone in your community needed help, how should they contact the order?
I need some work done around my house, including the repair or replacement of my wheelchair ramp. Someone at the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) suggested I seek out volunteers in the community, and mentioned Elks, Moose, VFW, what have you.
I feel weird just calling up out of the blue and asking if they can send someone over. What are the proper channels? Are there forms to fill out? Do I have to have less than a certain amount of income per year to qualify for help? Was the MDA lady full of fertilizer?
My late stepfather was an Elk. There are no “proper channels.” It’s a private club/group thing. I’m not sure if they send people to private residences to do what you need. They seemed to be involved in hospital visits, clothing drives, food delivery to poor families, and so on.
But you wont know until you call someone in their organization. My guess is that they would be glad to hear from you, and if they couldn’t help, they may know someone in your community who could.
Some lodges do get involved in helping out such as you need. The best way to find out is to go to the Elks website, click on “Find a Lodge” and find the number of your local lodge. Call them and ask for the Exalted Ruler, that’s the president of the local lodge. When you get in touch with him or her (yes, women are members and officers of the Elks now), relate what you were told and ask if they could possibly arrange something for you.
After all, one of the cornerstones of our order is Brotherly Love. I wish you the best of luck!