Helping people through community programs, scholarships, and more.
Community service is our mission and our reason for being. If you or someone in your community needs help, we are here for you. Our lodges invest in our communities through financial assistance, student scholarships, veterans’ assistance, community service, drug awareness programs and much, much more.
Providing for our children in need.
Unfortunately, we have children in Wyoming who need help. Maybe they need school supplies, a pair of glasses or a winter coat. Or maybe they need a medical procedure or to replace all of their belongings after a fire. Whatever the case may be, these children need someone to help them.
Through our Needy Youth program, the Wyoming Elks provides assistance with healthcare, clothing, eye care, assistive devices, beds, dental care and any other valid request. We also collaborate with other organizations that serve our youth, such as the Girls and Boys Clubs, to offer food collection, athletic events and other new and innovative ways to serve the youth of our state. Every year, we provide $40,000-$50,000 in assistance from the Wyoming Elks State Trust (WEST).
If you know of a child in need, please contact Heidi Rutledge at heidi.rutledge@pinnbank.com. Or, if you have a passion for children and those in need and want to help, consider joining the Elks!
Financial assistance is one way we help our neighbors in the State of Wyoming, and every year we donate tens of thousands of dollars in charitable, educational and benevolent assistance.
Established in 1989 with a $1,000 donation from the trust’s founder and first Chairman Richard Oberosler, the Wyoming Elks State Trust (WEST) makes many of our programs possible, including Needy Youth and Student Scholarships. We use the interest earned on the trust to fund our benevolent efforts (while leaving the principal invested, similar to the Elks National Foundation).
The Wyoming Elks State Trust is a perpetual fund built on the donations of generous groups and individuals. If you would like to contribute either as part of a group or as an individual (individuals actually make up the biggest percentage of total donations), we are always interested in growing the fund and, thereby, extending the reach of our benevolent efforts. For more information about the trust contact Jerry Fritz at elkswysec@gmail.com.
Donations to WEST are tax-deductible. As an individual, you can become a Participating Member of WEST by making a gift of $10 to $99. You will receive a letter from the Secretary/Treasurer of the Wyoming Elks Association acknowledging your charity, as well as a pin and certificate. All donations are cumulative, and with $100 you can become a Sponsor, with $1,000 a Founder, with $5,000 a Fellow, with $10,000 a Patron, with $25,000 a Builder and with $50,000 a Summa Endower.
Helping the brave men and women who have fought for our country.
Our veterans are the reason we enjoy the freedoms we have today yet, for many, life after combat is a struggle. They return from foreign shores with injuries and physical limitations as well as mental health issues and emotional scars. We need to help take care of them.
By collaborating with Veterans Affairs (VA) and attending meetings with the heads of the local VA offices in Wyoming, we are able to reach out a helping hand to many of the state’s veterans.
We provide food for homeless veterans and offer physical therapy for those who need it. We make sure our veterans have front-row seats and refreshments for parades and services on national holidays such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day (and Cheyenne Frontier Days!). We hold bingo games whenever we can. And, critically, we try to ease the suffering of veterans undergoing chemotherapy treatment at VA hospitals by providing snacks, bottled water and friendly company in the waiting room.
Through our Hides for Vets program, we collect hides donated by hunters for use in therapy programs for recovering veterans. The Elks Veterans Leather Program then provides veterans in VA hospitals with the tools to take up leather working skills. Each year, the Elks create thousands of therapy kits for our veterans and leather gloves for veterans in wheelchairs. These are just some of the things Wyoming Elks do to try to make life after combat better for the veterans who have sacrificed so much for the rest of us and our country as a whole. To learn more contact Jim Robinson at skyking660@msn.com.
Our children are Wyoming’s future. It’s vital that we have children’s programs that keep our kids out of trouble, engaged in positive activities and headed down the correct life path. We have seen too many of our kids slip down the path of substance abuse instead of staying engaged in life. Our children’s programs seek to do keep our kids on the right path through sports and other activities.
The Elks National Hoop Shoot® Free Throw Program is the largest non-commercial co-educational sports program in the United States. It offers youth ages 8-13 regardless of race, color or creed an opportunity for character and skill development, healthy spirited athletic competition, social relationships, quality family time, camaraderie and travel with minimal expense to participants and their parents.
The volunteers for the Hoop Shoot® Program provide a fun, fair and rewarding experience for everyone involved. We take great pride in encouraging the leaders of tomorrow to strive for and achieve their goals. It is our belief that every Wyoming community has a National Champion free throw shooter: our objective is to find them and encourage them.
Wyoming has three National Champions: Tonya Jorgenson (Mirts) from Douglas (1981), Tommi Olson from Worland (2009), and Kyler Battleson from Thayne (2011). The names of all National Champions are inscribed on a plaque on permanent display in the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Wyoming local contests are typically conducted in December and January, allowing for time to prepare and practice for the District and State Competitions. The 6 winners of each lodge’s local contest continue on to their District Contest, and the winners of each of the four Wyoming Districts then compete at the State Championships in February. The 6 Wyoming State Champions continue up the ladder, locking horns with the winners of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado at the Region 8 Championships in Denver in March. Regional winners from across the United States gather in Chicago for the National Finals in April.
For more information and to find a local contest near you, visit elks.org/hoopshoot.
Sports give children focus and help keep them out of activities that can derail them from a healthy, happy future. From toddlers to teens in both urban and rural areas, soccer is the sport of choice for our youth. Our Soccer Shoot Program takes advantage of soccer’s continuing growth in the U.S. and gives our kids a chance to shine.
The Elks Soccer Shoot program tests children in different age groups (U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14) with two distinct and fun challenges. The Five Goal Contest for U-8 contestants features five goals of decreasing size to shoot at. The Grid Goal Contest for U-10 through U-14 contestants divides a full-size goal divided into different target areas to shoot at.
The State Soccer Shoot normally takes place in Casper, Wyoming, during the month of October. The winners of each local contest are invited to compete in the state competition. Check your local lodge for a contest near your area or contact Starla Kuhrt at starla1014@gmail.com.
HISTORY OF THE ELKS POKER RUN
The Elks Poker Run was started about 18 years ago by three Elks members who enjoyed riding 4-wheeler ATVs: Bill Paddleford of Jackson, Sid McDonald of Thermopolis, and Chuck Samples of Jackson. They organized a ride over the Memorial Day Weekend and several Elks and others from around the State attended. The event was held each year on the Memorial Day weekend at various locations around the state – examples being; Owl Creek-Thermopolis, South Pass-Lander, in the desert by Sweetwater Station, Big Horn Mountains-Greybull, Big Horn Mountains-Ten Sleep, Sunlight Basin-Cody to name a few. Several years ago the weekend event was changed to the Labor Day Weekend as it was found there were many places in the mountainous regions around the state that are still inaccessible in May and June due to snow and weather conditions.
In about 2005, the Wyoming Elks Association adopted a program to provide scholarship funds for the children of any Wyoming soldier who had lost their life in the war on terror – to be known as “Elks Angels”. This program was established under the already existing Wyoming Elks State Trust (WEST), a permanent and irrevocable trust recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt under Section 501 (C) (3). The program has since been modified to include the children of any Wyoming Veteran that has served or current Military Personnel currently serving our country in the War On Terror (from 9/11/2001 to present). Shortly after the Elks Angels Trust was established, the founders of the Poker run decided to try to raise a few bucks to put into this fund. At first the efforts were pretty meager and the fund was not growing very rapidly. However, in 2012 our efforts were “stepped up” a bit, and more than $4800.00 was added to the fund that year and has been increasing each year since. At this time, November of 2023, we have over $89,000.00 in this fund, some of which has been invested with hopes of growing this fund; and over the past 3-5 years have given upwards of $20,000.00 to deserving students.
There have been several local businesses and individuals from all over the state of Wyoming that have helped our cause and contributed financial support, products and merchandise in order to increase the bottom line for this worthy endeavor. This year our ride is hosted by Cody Elks Lodge and is going to be held in the Big Horn Mountains. Typically there are about 40 to 50 riders for the event, but we are hoping to grow that and are pushing for 60-70 riders. It is always a lot of fun and there is usually always someone that will provide a good laugh or two from attempting some sort of unplanned, unrehearsed, ridiculous stunt/wreck/”dumb move”. As Elks we can sum up our event and most all of our activities by saying “we have fun helping others”. Our motto enforces that because it states “ELKS CARE – ELKS SHARE”.
Thank you for allowing us to to share with you how some of the events we sponsor are administered and how we provide for others in Wyoming.
The Elk’s Angels Trail Riding Weekend and Poker Ride is a fundraising event to provide scholarship assistance to the children of fallen Wyoming servicemen/women who lost their lives in the War on Terror.
The 2017 Elk’s Angels Trail Riding Weekend and Poker Ride will be held Friday September 1st through September 4th, Labor Day. This year it will be held near Lake Owen and Rob Roy Reservoir.
For more information, please contact Brad Smith at bradford.smith@vensure.com. We are also selling banners for $100.
This year's theme for the Americanism Essay Contest is: “What Does Patriotism Mean to Me.” The contest is open to 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Nationally, cash prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the amounts of $1000.00, $500.00 and $250.00. Essays should be returned to the local lodges by December 15th, judged there, and then the top 3 in each division will be forwarded to the District chairs, Beanie Forester(Cody) in the West and Greg Flesvig(Casper) in the East by January 31, 2025. The District Chairs will send the top three in each group to the State Chair, Laura Laughlin by February 28th. The state chair will send them on to National by March 31st. Please participate in this program with the kids in your communities.
Remember to recognize those folks in your town who honor and display our country’s flag in an extra special way. Please be sure the Flag is in good shape at your lodge.
Thanks for all you do for Elkdom,
Laura Laughlin, Americanism Chair
307-250-5235
lvwlaughlin@gmail.com
https://www.elks.org/programs/americanism.cfm
Every year, we visit schools around Wyoming and give free dictionaries to students who can’t afford them on their own. It may not seem like much, but a dictionary is a doorway into a new world of literacy, especially when students don’t have a computer or a smartphone. Through this program, students have their own dictionary—theirs alone—to develop vocabulary, spelling and knowledge.
The Dictionary Project began over 20 years ago as an effort to improve literacy of students in South Carolina. Since then, it has grown into a nationwide program. We have adapted the program to the specific needs students have here in Wyoming. Representatives from our lodges visit schools, engage with students on the importance of literacy and provide much-needed dictionaries. We offer dictionaries great for younger students as well as expanded dictionaries (with some encyclopedic information) and thesauruses great for older students..
Every year brings new opportunities to help improve literacy for our students in Wyoming. For more information, please contact Marilyn Lane, WEA Dictionary Chairman, at lilpeachwyo@gmail.com or 307-761-1286.
None of us is immune to the heartache of substance abuse. If someone near you or in your community is suffering from addiction, you are suffering as well. We need to educate everyone about the dangers of illegal drug use and abuse of prescription drugs, legalized drugs and alcohol. That includes our family, our friends and our neighbors.
If your community is suffering from the effects of drug addiction, we can help get the word out. Our volunteers speak at health conferences and fairs, local parades and holiday events. We bring with us a trailer full of pamphlets and goodies for the young kids (rulers, bracelets, coloring books and more), and we tailor our resources to the drug or addiction you are hoping to address. We even have educational resources that teachers can use in their classrooms, including a unit lesson and a “Drug Quiz Show.”
Our efforts are part of the Elks National Drug Awareness Program, which is the largest volunteer drug awareness program in the country. By showing how drug addiction affects our bodies, lives, families and communities, we hope to inspire the children and adults around us to live a life free from substance abuse. In our efforts, we partner with experts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy and Drug Enforcement Administration as well as local school districts, law enforcement agencies and others.
For more information on the Elks National Drug Awareness Program, please visit www.elks.org/dap. You may also contact the Wyoming State Drug Awareness chairman, Justin Baily (Cody, WY), for information, to request informational materials or to have us at your next event at jbaily56@gmail.com.
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