On Monday, April 15, the city of Boston was shaken when two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon. The Elks scholars who had taken part in the Elks Scholar Month of Service just one day before couldn’t believe what had happened.
“I was volunteering at the medical tent at the Boston Marathon, and saw so many people affected,” says Mary Solomon, a 2011 Most Valuable Student scholar sponsored by Wallingford, Conn., Lodge No. 1365.
Always willing to help their community, the Elks scholars knew they needed to do something for the city they have come to love so much. Led by Mary, a group of four Elks scholars came together to sign cards and bake cookies for the Boston Police Department and the Northeastern University Police Department to say thank you.
On April 24, Mary was joined by Martha Gowaski, a 2012 Most Valuable Student scholar sponsored by Hudson-Concord, Mass., Lodge No. 959, Kara Morgan, a 2012 Most Valuable Student scholar sponsored by Franklin, Mass., Lodge No. 2136, and Kim Rubino, a 2009 Legacy scholar sponsored by Palm Coast, Fla., Lodge No. 2709, to deliver the cards and cookies to the police.
“They reacted better than we could have expected,” says Mary. “The Captain read our card aloud to everyone, and one of the officers stepped forward and gave us each a BPD badge.”
The Elks scholars chatted with the police officers for almost an hour and shared how grateful they were for their service. They also visited the Northeastern University Police Department to say thank you.
The Northeastern Elks scholars proved that the Elks family comes together to support each other in both times of joy and sadness.
“We have formed a little family on campus and I'm thankful for the scholarship for bringing us together,” says Mary.
The Elks National Foundation provides $3.74 million in college scholarships each year. Today’s Elks scholars are tomorrow’s Elks. Be sure to include Elks scholars from your Lodge in Lodge events and service projects. For more information about our scholarship programs, and for ways Lodges can get involved with Elks scholars, visit www.elks.org/enf/scholars.