Elks help keep Sanders County kids warm

This past year, the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge received $4,000 in an Elks National Foundations Grant to target the needs of youth in Sanders County.

Thompson Falls Youth Baseball received $1,000 of the grant money, and the Blue Hawk Wrestling Club received another $1,000 to help students with financial needs to attend tournaments out of town. Trout Creek Community Improvement Association received $500 to help purchase school supplies for Trout Creek School. The remaining $1,500 was used to fund the Elks Keep-Em-Warm (KEW) program.

The KEW program fills a very basic need for youth in the area. "I remember clearly as a young mother, living on a very limited income, and worrying that my kids had warm enough clothes for the climate we lived in. My mother recognized that concern and helped by sending 'care packages' with warm pajamas, shirts or whatever she felt might be needed, and in each package was a note urging me to 'Keep-em-Warm.' Not everyone has a mother who can help with keeping kids warm. I was lucky," said Connie Scoot with the Clark Fork Valley Elks. This inspired the idea of KEW.

The program started by establishing the KEW Krew (four ladies, all grandmothers and either Elks themselves or the spouse of an Elk) and each was assigned to schools from Dixon to Noxon. Each had the job of establishing contact with the school to gain insight to immediate needs. The KEW Krew learned that each school has a "resource room," some run more formally than others, but all have the mission to keep on hand what is needed to help their particular students.

In addition to the KEW Krew there is a "shopper," who wishes to remain anonymous. "She is always on the lookout for deals to help the program or fulfill a specific need we have requested help with," Scott said. "She has never requested reimbursement. I think of her as our secret weapon."

The first year, Scott said the Elks found that they were getting heavily involved with the local coat and mitten drive to fulfill some of the needs identified to them. This past year the Elks contacted Thompson Falls High School, who coordinated that event, and asked to run the program as part of the KEW effort. The school agreed.

Donation boxes were set at Harvest Foods and at the Elks Lodge. The community filled the boxes three times at Harvest Foods and twice at the lodge.

"We want to thank Harvest Foods for allowing us to collect in their high-traffic front door area. Also, everyone should know that the Levi Thrift Store gave us four big bags of coats totally free at the end of last season; which we stored and brought out in November 2018. Therefore we were able to make our first distribution of coats before Thanksgiving to every resource room in each of our schools," Scott said.

"You would be amazed at what shows up in those boxes. One very generous person put 6 pairs of snow pants in sizes we could clearly use. It was like mana from heaven. We also received several new coats with the tags still on them and some even threw in socks, sweatpants and of course coats and mittens," she noted.

The KEW Krew went through the items, washed and organized them by the sizes needed for each school. Spouses of the Krew members helped delivery the items, making it a real team effort, Scott said.

Scott stated that with $1,500 in grant money this year, the Elks provided more than 300 pairs of gloves, 50 pairs of shoes and boots and 30 pairs of sweatpants and snow pants. She said the coats and hats that came in through the drive are harder to track, but the KEW Krew distributed in excess of 200 coats to six schools as well.