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 The object was to encourage all the Elks lodges in the district to
take advantage of the mobile unit that will help them provide a
community service in their hometowns.
Matt Stropes and Terry Howell of the Illinois Elks were on hand
to talk about the trailer. Stropes and Howell are with the Elks
Lodge in Pekin, which is where the trailer is stored between uses.
The trailer is one of five in operation statewide. It is
available to all the Elks lodges, free of charge. In order to use
the trailer, local lodges have to provide local volunteers to man
it, and they need to pick it up and return it to its home in Pekin.
Stropes and Howell walked through what is in the trailer. The
trailer opens up, and an array of pamphlets and literature are
available for handout to kids and adults. Stropes pointed out that
in the literature are guides for parents, such as the 10 ways to
tell if a child may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There is also a walk-through portion where kids and adults can
see three-dimensional displays of the damage done to internal organs
as a result of such abuses.
Howell explained that for the kids, a wide variety of products
are available, from coloring books to posters, rulers, bookmarks,
comic books and more.
He said individual lodges choose what they want to have in the
trailer and order it in advance. They can then stock the trailer
with their items, and when the event they are attending is done,
they can keep the leftovers to use at other times, or he said some
groups leave the leftovers in the trailer for the next lodge to use.
On a local level, Floyd and Chris Schmidt of the Lincoln lodge
were on hand, talking about what the local Elks do and what they
hope to do in the future.
They explained that currently the Elks contribute financially to
the local D.A.R.E. program and participate in the annual Christmas
parade, handing out coloring books and fliers.
The Schmidts said that the Lincoln Elks are interested in
expanding what they do and will be looking to partner more with
organizations such as D.A.R.E. They also talked about using the
trailer in the future at local festivals, health fairs and other
healthy activities.
 A fun feature of the trailer is Elroy the Elk. Elroy is a
larger-than-life mascot for the Elks. Chris Schmidt was happy to don
the large elk head and show him off. Howell said that Elroy is
popular with the kids, helps draw them into the trailer and opens
the door for communicating with them about drugs and alcohol.
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In addition, the trailer is equipped with a show-and-tell-type game
kids can play. It involves a basketball hoop and a pair of special
goggles. Kids put on the goggles, which are designed to blur the
vision and simulate what the world looks like when they are under
the influence. They are then asked to shoot hoops. The men explained
that with the goggles on, it is pretty difficult for the kids to
make the shot and even keep their balance while trying.
While the activity is fun, it is also a teaching activity that
helps kids understand what they are doing to themselves when they
abuse drugs or alcohol.
In the Elks organization there are levels, the highest being the
federal or national level, and then the state level, districts and
local lodges. The trailer belongs to the Illinois Elks Association
and is funded by grants from the federal organization.
Nationwide, the Elks Lodge works with veterans and carries a
motto that as long as there is a veteran, he will not be forgotten.
Stropes said that when they began the project they labeled it: As
long as there is a veteran in the hospital, he will not be
forgotten. However, over the years, they have come to realize that
the needs of veterans on a daily basis are great, so they do what
they can to address all the needs of local vets.
In its youth programs, in addition to the drug awareness trailer,
the Elks organization offers scholarships and assistance programs
for special-needs children.
Stropes explained that there are special scholarships for
students studying in the fields of physical therapy, occupational
therapy and speech.
Also, the Elks work with the organization's Children's Care Corp.
to provide special equipment for disabled children.
Howell explained that the corporation might notify them that they
have a child in a wheelchair and the family can't afford to install
a chair lift in their van. He said the Elks can help get that done
for the family.
Stropes also remembered it wasn't too long ago that the Children's
Care Corp. notified them that there was a child who needed a special
computer because he was vision-impaired. He said the Elks helped to
provide that computer to the child.
The Schmidts said the local Elks will meet this week, and they
hope to discuss the lodge's expansion of community involvement and
the use of the drug awareness trailer. With the support of the lodge
as a whole, they hope the community will soon be introduced to the
trailer, and of course Elroy the Elk will be there too.
[By NILA SMITH] |
