The Elks Lodge has presented four nonprofits with $7,500, bringing national grant funds to town.
Last Friday, lodge members presented Wrangell Head Start and Little League with $1,000 each, $3,500 to the senior center and $2,000 to The Salvation Army food pantry.
Lodge member Dawn Angerman said the grant money came from the Elks National Foundation, which funds the grants using member dues and donations. There are 444 Elks members in Wrangell. Angerman said if lodges meet their required member dues and exceed member donations, they could be eligible for an additional $500, which the Wrangell lodge achieved.
The two national grants distributed in Wrangell are the Gratitude and Beacon Spotlight grants.
The recipients weren’t expecting the donations, but said they are grateful and ready to put the funds to use.
“As long as this can stretch, we will make sure to get the containers we need and the food we need,” said Sara Aleksieva, van driver for the senior center. “We go to the grocery store and buy all the fresh produce. We serve probably on average 60 to 70 people a day, just delivering.”
Tlingit & Haida Head Start preschool will be able to use the money to send its graduates off with a little extra.
“Because of COVID, our parents were unable to do any fundraising the past two years,” said Sandy Churchill, a teacher at the school. “Usually, we always have a nice big graduation party with parting gifts, so that’s what we can do with the money.”
Little League concessions will be updated using some of the money, but another much needed issue can be addressed, too.
“Right now, we’re planning on ordering a bunch of new uniforms because our uniforms are very, very old,” said Kaelene Harrison, a member of the organization’s board.
The Salvation Army’s Lt. Jon Tollerud said the money will help them with supplies for their food pantry for the next 60 to 90 days.
“It’s great because, while we get a lot of donations from the grocery stores, they don’t always meet the USDA (federal) guidelines,” Tollerud said. “We try to keep our food boxes within those guidelines.”
Though the donations are appreciated and unexpected, some of the recipients weren’t surprised.
“As far as I know, Wrangell is probably one of the top places out of senior services in the Southeast that has the top donations,” Aleksieva said. We have a great community. I feel like that shows.”
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