Annual Projects

Annual Projects

Elks Hoop Shoot

One of the Order's most impressive youth programs is the Elks "Hoop Shoot" National Free Throw Contest. With more than 3 million participants annually, ages 8-13, the odds of making it to the championship round of the Elks "Hoop Shoot" are more than 40,000 to 1. The odds of capturing one of the six national titles that are up for grabs each year are more than 500,000 to one!

At an Elks "Hoop Shoot" Free Throw Contest, boys and girls in one of three age-groups, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, attempt to sink 25 free throws--10 in the first round, 15 in the second, with ties being resolved by five-shot shoot-offs. The competition's fierce, but fun. And that's one reason that the Elks "Hoop Shoot" has grown, since 1946, from a local youth activity at Corvallis, Oregon, Elks Lodge to the largest coeducational sports program in the country. This year (2007) the Lodge will sponsor the event at Mission Viejo High School gym , November 17 & 18 at 12 to 4 PM.

July 4th Mission Viejo Street Faire

Purple Pig Fund Raiser for Handicapped Children

Did you Know?

* The Elks provided over $160 million in charitable works last year.

* Over $3.4 million in college scholarships is awarded annually by the Elks.

Elks National Foundation

News Release

September 1, 2009

ENF Scholarships Make College Possible

Chicago, IL. – The cost of college is formidable, preventing many deserving students from attending at all and leaving many others to graduate with an overwhelming amount of debt. Last year, the average tuition at a private four-year institution rose 5.9 percent, reaching $25,143, and the average cost of attending a public four-year university increased 6.4 percent*. The Elks National Foundation’s Most Valuable Student Scholarship contest, which launched on September 1, 2009, aims to alleviate this financial burden for 500 ambitious students.

This year, through the MVS Scholarship, the Elks National Foundation will award $2.296 million, giving students a chance to earn a college education without incurring insurmountable loans. The Foundation awards 18 top winners scholarships ranging from $8,000 to $60,000 over four years. The remaining 482 runners-up receive $4,000 scholarships over four years.

This scholarship is available to all high school seniors who are United States citizens. Applicants do not need to be related to a member of the Elks. Males and females compete separately, and are judged on scholarship, leadership and financial need. Completed applications must be turned in to the applicant’s nearest Elks Lodge, no later than November 2, 2009. National finalists will be required to submit a secondary application. The 500 national winners will be announced by April 1, 2010.

Applications for the 2010 contest are available at Elks Lodges, local high schools, and for download at www.elks.org/enf/scholars.

* Scholarship Junkies In the News

* The Scholarship Junkies Network

* FAQ’s

* Contact Scholarship Junkies

Scholarship Profile: 2010 Most Valuable Student Scholarship

Posted on September 29, 2007. Filed under: Scholarship Profiles |

For students who have shown great initiative in their communities and schools, the Elks National Foundation has a scholarship competition that seeks young leaders in the country. Below are some details about the scholarship as well as my suggestions for completing the application.

2010 Most Valuable Student Scholarship

The MVS Scholarship is funded by the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the USA. The structure of the application process features local, district, state, and national winners. To be considered for a 2010 MVS Scholarship, applicants must:

* Demonstrate financial need, leadership, and scholarship

* Be high school seniors who are U.S. citizens

* Submit a completed application with exhibits of leadership and scholarship

First place winners will receive $60,000 over four years ($15,000/year). For first place, there will be one girl and one boy. Second place winners will receive $40,000 over four years ($10,000/year), and there will be one girl and one boy. Third place winners will receive $20,000 over four years ($5,000/year), and again, there will be one girl and one boy. A new development for the program this year offers fourth place winners $16,000 over four years ($4,000/year) to one girl and one boy as well as two fifth place winners at $12,000 over four years ($3,000/year) and four sixth place winners at $10,000 over four years ($2,500/year). In addition to these awards, there will be 482 national finalists – 241 girls and 241 boys. Each national finalist will receive $4,000 over four years ($1,000/year). For the 2010-2014 academic years, a total of $2,296,000 will be awarded.

I’ve found understanding the scoring breakdown to be helpful in putting together my application. You can find it under Frequently Asked Questions on the ENF website. UPDATE (7/2009): This information is no longer available on the ENF website for the 2009 competition, but a little bit of background knowledge from previous years never hurts. You can read up though at http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/mvsfaq.cfm.

The application is judged on the following merits:

Scholarship ACT or SAT score 450 points

Transcript

Counselor Report

Leadership Employment 350 points

Community Service

Honors/Awards

Leadership

Extracurricular Activities

Recommendations, Completeness and Presentation of Brochure

Essay

Financial Need 195 points

Exhibits 5 points

Total 1000 points

The application includes reporting your ACT/SAT scores, transcript, counselor report, two recommendations, leadership and scholarship exhibits, and a 500 word essay. The application has sections that include employment, community service, honors and awards, leadership, and extracurricular activities. As always, make sure to get your recommendations early. The application is available starting September 1, 2009, at http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/mvs.cfm and is due on November 2, 2009.

Suggestions:

* Find places to tell your story. The essay itself seeks your intellectual capability among other things and doesn’t really give you a chance to tell your story. If you have overcome adversity or want the judges to know a significant detail about you, find somewhere to fit it into your application. My advice: put in your parent’s statement section. If you’ve overcome a hardship that influenced your family, ask your parents to fit it in. Work on it together so you can effectively tell your story.

* Neatness counts. Organize your folder neatly, filling in your application legibly. Make sure all contents are presentable and in order.

* Choose your recommendations wisely. You will need one letter from a community service leader and one from a different source (i.e. teacher, counselor, pastor). Give them at least four weeks to write your letter and remember to fill out a Personal Data Form.

* Edit and revise your essay. When answering the question, remember to look over my Writer’s Block article for tips on writing the essay.

* Paint a well-rounded picture of yourself. The MVS Scholarship is seeking students who are well-rounded and involved in different facets of education. If you started a club, make sure to mention it when you fill out the application. Prioritize your honors and awards by importance and list the larger achievements at the top.

* Check deadlines for local Elks Lodges. Some local lodges will establish their own deadline ahead of the national deadline. Be sure to submit your application on time.

For your exhibits, consider anything from award certificates to fliers you created for clubs to represent leadership and scholarship. Remember to add any “application commodities” like Who’s Who Among American High School Students or the National Honor Roll. When you have finished, place all the contents in a three-ring folder and submit it to your local Elks chapter. Keep checking your mail to monitor your progress. State winners are selected for the national competition. I was fortunate enough to be selected a 2006 MVS Scholarship National Finalist. I would be more than happy to answer any questions or help out if need. Please feel free to email me. The MVS Scholarship process has many parts so start early and continually improve it so you can submit it with confidence.

Where Can I Get More Information about the ENF Legacy Awards Program or the Elks National Foundation?

scholarship@elks.org

Who is Eligible?

1. Any child or grandchild (or step-child, step-grandchild, or legal ward) of a living Elk who joined the order on or before April 1, 2007, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after April 1, 2007, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up member through March 31, 2010. Great-grandchildren are not eligible.

2. The applicant must be a high school senior.

3. The applicant must apply online only at www.elks.org/enf/scholars.

4. If the applicant's parent and grandparent are both Elk members, the applicant must apply through the parent's Elks Lodge.

5. Students may apply for more than one ENF scholarship; however, they may win only one. In cases where the student qualifies for more than one, we will award the scholarship with the greater value.

6. Legacy Awards may only be applied to accredited US American schools, colleges or universities. (Note: Applicants from Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Philippines may apply Legacy Awards toward schools, colleges or universities in their respective homes.)

7. Applicants must take the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the American College Test by December 31, 2009.

How Do I Apply, and What Are the Deadlines?

Eligible students should apply in the following manner:

1. Starting with the 2010 contest, applications will be available ONLINE ONLY after September 1, 2009.

2. The student must complete and submit the ONLINE application by the January 8, 2010, deadline.

3. The Elk sponsor’s membership will be verified through the BPOE Grand Lodge headquarters.

4. When a student registers to complete the online application, both the applicant and Lodge Secretary will be notified by email.

5. Upon receipt of the application, the applicant will receive a notification that the application was received. Winners will be announced on or around May 1, 2010.

Note: Because the contest begins in one Lodge year and the winners are announced in the next, a Legacy Award could go to the child or grandchild of a lapsed member. An applicant's Elk parent or grandparent must be a paid-up member in good standing at the time of application, but if the Elk chooses not to renew membership, that decision will not affect the outcome of the Legacy Awards contest.

Elks National Foundation

2750 N. Lakeview Ave.

Chicago, IL 60614-2256

California-Hawall Elks Major Project

For complete details of this Project download the following brochure:

Click here> Major_Project.pdf

SCHOOL DICTIONARY PROGRAM

THIRD GRADERS

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Mission Viejo`s Viejo Elementary School third-graders get free dictionaries

Elks Lodge spends about $47,000 to buy more than 27,000 dictionaries for O.C. third-graders.

By: ERIKA I. RITCHIE The Orange County Register

Monday, October 15, 2007

Donor: Mission Viejo Elks Lodge

Mission Viejo`s Viejo Elementary School third-graders get free dictionaries GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE: Andy Costello (center) and other members of The Mission Viejo Saddleback Valley Elks hand out dictionaries to eager third-graders. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

MISSION VIEJO – When Andrea Arreola got her free dictionary, she quickly found a page with sign language.

`It`s cool to know how to do it,` said the bright-eyed 8-year-old, who instantly practiced what she saw. `I`m going to use the dictionary to learn more words and write them in cursive – I love writing cursive.`

Andrea was one of 50 third-graders at Viejo Elementary who last week got free dictionaries from the Mission Viejo Elks Lodge. More dictionaries will be passed out this week to schools in La Habra, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Tustin. In all, more than 27,000 dictionaries will be distributed this year by 10 Orange County Elks Lodges to 240 schools in the county. The service group, dedicated to helping handicapped children, raised about $47,000 through bingo to fund the books.

The Dictionary Project – part of a national effort promoting active reading and creative thinking – was founded in South Carolina in 1995. The Elks distributed their first batch of 18,500 dictionaries to Orange County elementary schools last year.

Andy Costello, a district chairman with the Elks, still remembers the Webster`s Pocket Dictionary he got years ago. It was in his Christmas stocking among fruit and 10-cent toys. For years he carried it with him.

`It became my constant companion until it was finally worn and tattered,` said the 72-year-old Laguna Hills resident. `That was well into my high school years. I retired it to my special shoe box along with my graduation tassel, my broken first wristwatch and other assorted bits of youthful treasures.`

The colorful dictionaries were an instant hit with the students at the Viejo Elementary. Many couldn`t believe the books were theirs to keep.

`It`s very important that you use it every day,` Pat Martino, chairman of the project at the Mission Viejo Elks Lodge, told the students. `Try to find a new word and use it.`

The 512-page dictionaries include the planets, the 50 states, the Declaration of Independence and the longest word in the English language – 1,909 letters long — defining a protein and amino-acid formula.

Manuel Aguirre, 8, didn`t wait long to tackle that word. He leafed to the back of the book and found it.

`It`s just a ton of letters,` he exclaimed. `I might not have enough time to sound it out or enough breath to say it.`

Jake Merk, 8, started on page one.

`I think it`s easier to use than the computer,` he said. `On a computer you have to move the mouse everywhere and click on things. Here I can just start reading.`

Viejo Elementary – one of eight schools geared toward lower-income students and English learners in the Capistrano Unified School District – last year exceeded state academic goals. School officials say the dictionaries are an invaluable asset.

`It`s important because many of our students` parents can`t afford books,` said Scott Bowman, an assistant principal who teaches fifth grade. `Many struggle just to provide clothes and school supplies. Most parents work multiple jobs.`

Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn. Dictionary use is often part of the curriculum in this grade.

`Some students are still learning English,` said third-grade teacher Suzy Griffen. `There are words we assume they know, but they may not know and can now look up in the dictionary. It`s a great resource for parents and students.`

After school Andrea Arreola had even bigger plans for her dictionary. She wanted to test her brother and help her father.

`My dad`s just starting to learn English,` she said. `I`m going to open the book and find a word. Then I`m going to say it to him and tell him to copy me by saying it back.`

Dictionaries to be distributed

These Elks Lodges have targeted about 240 schools for new dictionaries. Some third-graders have received dictionaries, and others will get them within weeks.

Elks Orange Coast District 960 Dictionary Donations

Buena Park: 1,600

Fullerton: 6,000

Garden Grove: 2,000

Huntington Beach: 1,959

La Habra: 1,000

Mission Viejo: 4,100

Newport Harbor: 1,800

Orange: 2,200

Santa Ana: 6,000

Westminster: 1,000

Total: 27,659