Thanks to a $4,000 donation from Elks Lodge 313 here, four-year-old Kendra Duffy has new hearing aids and an FM system that will help her communicate with her parents and teachers more easily.
“This is just one example of our Elks charity assisting children and adults across Canada in the field of speech and hearing impairment and stuttering,” said Elks Exalted Ruler Tony Kadikoff, who joined two other members at the Northwestern Health Unit on Monday afternoon to make the donation.
“We do a lot of charity work and we give away a great deal of money through the Elks,” Kadikoff said. “The only problem is that we are too secretive about it, and we need to inform the public about it more.”
In an effort to bring more people into the organization, the local Elks lodge will hold its first-ever membership drive in the new year.
“We will block off an area of town and we will mail to each of the homes a brochure on our organization,” Kadikoff noted. “Then we will go house to house to see if anyone is interested in joining.
If they say no, then we will move on,” he added. “[But] we are hoping this drive will be as successful as they have been out west.”
The Elks support community needs across Canada through national and local programs, including the Elks and Royal Purple Literary and Poster Contest which promotes a drug-free lifestyle.
Founded in 1967, the Elks and Royal Purple Deaf Detection and Development Program has dedicated itself to the promotion of the earliest possible identification of hearing impairment, as well as assistance to assure the best possible services to the hearing-impaired are available.
“We do our best to help children like Kendra and her parents,” said Kadikoff. “We raise money so the parents of these children can afford the medical devices and programs they need to make their lives easier.”
Since its inception in 1912, the Elks of Canada have grown to more than 330 lodges and roughly 23,000 members.
For more info on how to become a member of the Fort Frances Elks, contact Kadikoff at 274-2551.