SALISBURY — The Salisbury Elks Lodge 699 recently awarded Gratitude Grants in the amount of $3,000 to Family Crisis Council and $1,000 to Rowan Helping Ministries. The program grants are funded by the Elks National Foundation (ENF) to say thank you to local Elks’ lodges and their community.

The Elks awarded a $3,000 grant to the Family Crisis Council. 

“The grant funds will be used to support our clients in shelter services and court advocacy,” said Angel Chapman McDavid, executive director of the FCC agency. “Thank you to the Salisbury Elks and ENF for their generous support and helping us to change lives for the better.” 

The local lodge donated $1,000 to Rowan Helping Ministries to support veteran programs. It also donated coffee makers for the Eagles Nest III Veteran apartments as well as kitchen items, bedding sets and small appliances for veterans moving from their transitional housing program to permanent residences. 

Executive Director Kyna Grubb is grateful for the ongoing generosity from the Salisbury Elks Lodge 

“We can always count on the Salisbury Elks to help our veterans,” Grubb said. “Special thanks to members Richard Penk, Kenny Martin and Bob Sce who visited Rowan Helping Ministries to present us with these donations. The kind and generous support helps our veterans as they move forward on their pathway to stable housing and independence.” 

Rich Penk serves as the grants coordinator for Salisbury Elks. He said the goal is to help local veterans, youth and families who are in urgent need of services.

“These grants are available to every lodge that meets the national president’s per-member-giving goal for the ENF,” Penk said. “Thanks to the hard work of our member Julie Caldwell and the generosity of our members, our giving has significantly increased.”

Caldwell has 10 years’ experience with the ENF and serves as the local and district fundraising chair. She coordinates vendor events, paint parties, basket raffles and logo items throughout the year to raise money for ENF.

“When I first started, I think we raised about $6-$7 per member,” Caldwell said. “Now we’re close to $18 per member.” 

Although Caldwell wants to encourage people to join the Salisbury Elks, she said that you don’t have to be an Elks member to attend or participate in these ENF events. 

“The more people who give, the more people we can help,” Caldwell said. “For every dollar we donate, we get back about $1.75 to support our veteran events, youth programs, scholarships and more. We put our motto “Elks Care, Elks Share” into action to make a real difference in our community and peoples’ lives.”

To learn more about Salisbury Elks #699, go to www.SalisburyElks.org.