West Central District

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Written by May Graci

On April 14, St. Petersburg Lodge donated $2,000 to The Kind Mouse which will cover the cost of 330 mouse nibble sacks for kids who do not have food sources outside of their school lunch program. The sacks include milk, juice boxes, cereal, tuna snack packs, pasta and meat snack packs, fruit cups, and much more. The lodge used their $2,000 Elks National Foundation Gratitude Grant to applied for by PER Dawn Lieber, lodge grant writer, to make this donation.

The Kind Mouse Productions Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in St. Petersburg, Florida, that assists families and children in Pinellas County with food insecurities and chronic hunger. According to their website, thekindmouse.org, “more than 7,000 children in Pinellas County live with chronic hunger and more than 36,000 live every day with food insecurities.” With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, food demand at the Kind Mouse is at its peak. Before the pandemic, children in their program received one bag each weekend of the year with an additional three to five bags for Thanksgiving, spring break and the Christmas vacation. Now, these children and additional children need fed seven days a week.

Pictured are Dan Masi, Leading Knight and the Florida State Elks Association Development Director, and Gina Wilkins, Founder and CEO of The Kind Mouse.

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Written by May Graci

On April 3, St. Petersburg Elks Lodge #1224 donated Easter basket supplies to Sallie House and Children's Village which are part of the Salvation Army. Items included candy, yo-yos, trucks, balls, bubbles, earbuds, cellphone holders and more. The items were delivered so baskets could be put together for the 36 children and teenagers housed at these facilities. Pictured are Michael “Doc” Cook, Exalted Ruler; Nicole Brown from Sallie House; and Kirk Martin, Inner Guard.

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Written by May Graci

On March 11, the St. Petersburg Ladies of Elks Auxiliary made a $1,000 donation to the Southeastern Guide Dogs walkathon and the lodge added an additional $250. The walkathon is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year and is relied upon to bring in more than $1 million annually to fund their mission. The organization does not accept government funding and depends on private donations and grants to provide its life-changing guide and service dogs to the people who need them at no charge. Pictured are Jan Giallourakis, St. Petersburg Ladies of Elks Auxiliary Vice President, and Tracy Horrell, PER, a member of Tampa Elks Lodge who is representing Southeastern Guide Dogs. She raises puppies and Sandy, pictured with Horrell, is under her charge right now being trained. She teaches puppies the basics including house manners and basic obedience, and they then go on for further training.

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Written by May Graci

On Feb. 28, St. Petersburg Lodge donated $1,500 to Northwest Youth Baseball (NWYB) in St. Petersburg, Florida, to sponsor youth baseball teams. NWYB does not receive any funding from the city and relies strictly on donations they receive from their sponsors. The donations allow NWYB to operate their park, make necessary purchases such as new equipment and uniforms, and finance other park expenses including field maintenance and field lights. In addition, because of sponsors’ generosity, NWYB can maintain affordable registration costs.

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Written by May Graci

On March 7-8, St. Petersburg Lodge sponsored member Chris Boland in Bike MS: The Citrus Tour 2020 with a donation of $1,000. Bike MS is the fundraising cycling series of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and raises more money than any other cycling event for any other cause. Their mission is to end MS. Routes included 23, 50, 75 and 100 miles.

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Written by May Graci

On Feb. 29, St. Petersburg Lodge donated $700 to the Dixie Hollins baseball team to thank the team members for assisting during a lodge event. The money will be used for baseball equipment and help with travel expenses. Pictured are head coach, Ralph Rogers; assistant coach, Dave Neverline; and team members.