Ridgway Elks Lodge charity ball less than a month away
RIDGWAY - On Saturday, February 3, the Ridgway Elks Lodge will be having their annual charity ball at The Royal Inn which benefits their charity program fund. This is the largest fundraiser that the Elks Lodge has, and the biggest benefactors of the contributions generated are divided up between the Pennsylvania Elks Home Service Program and other local charities in our area.
The Elks has five district meetings a year in the months of March, April, June, September, and November. Typically, the Ridgway Elks make a $10,000 to $15,000 donation to the program in the March or April meeting.
This program was established in 1963, and it aims to improve the quality of life for children and adults that have developmental disabilities.
Each Elks association in the United States has a major project they contribute to, and the major project that Pennsylvania Elks Associations contribute to is the Pennsylvania Elks Home Service Program.
The service through the program is to provide a specially trained and licensed Elks nurse to visit the individual or individuals home free of charge.
The Elks home service also helps to provide information regarding resources or services available, offer instruction regarding home care, provide referrals to appropriate agencies with a community, and interpret clinical findings and act as a liaison between health care providers. Other services offered are mentioned on the PA Elks Home Service website.
This charity ball is not only supported by Elks members in Ridgway, as members from St. Marys, Kane, and
Pittsburgh also attend. Mamie Mader, secretary of the Elks Lodge, added that there are Elks members who moved out of the area who still come to the event each year.
The Ridgway Elks sends tickets to its members each year for the charity ball and the money that is raised from ticket sales is raffled off to the people for the event.
The doors open at 4:30 p.m. followed by a buffet style dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Dinner will be served before the ball by reservation only, as the dinner is not included with the purchase of a ticket. The band Trixx will provide the live entertainment for the night, as they will perform from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Mader mentioned that the Elks has been preparing for this event for several months, and wanted to commend the efforts of the number of volunteers that work to make the charity ball a success each year.
For any additional information about this year’s Ridgway Elks Lodge charity ball, call (814) 773-5025 or visit the Ridgway Elks page on Facebook.