A Wonderful Example of “Elks Care – Elks Share”

 An Article from Secretary Rich Caron, Originally Appearing in the Framingham Lodge No. 1264 Newsletter

The Lodge got an interesting phone call the other day that I’d like to share with you.  A woman called to say that she was a friend of a Framingham cou­ple wanting to celebrate their wedding anniversary by going out to dinner.  The problem was that the husband is confined to a wheelchair, ravaged so badly by Lou Gehrig’s disease that could well be their last anniversary.  The cost of using an ambu­lance for the trip would be around $200 for the round trip.  She said that she was calling us because a number of years ago she and her family were “up against it” and living virtually from hand to mouth.  Just before what was to be a very bleak Thanksgiv­ing, a couple of Elks from the Franklin Lodge showed up on her doorstep with a basket full of food for the family’s Thanksgiving dinner.  She said that she has never forgotten the act of caring, so when her friends needed help, she immediately thought of the Elks because “you guys look out for people”.  She called us in hopes that we might know of someone with a wheelchair accessible van that they could use for the evening.

 After chatting awhile longer, I suggested that the husband'’ medical condition might qualify him for “The Ride”, offered the MBTA for handicapped individuals.  She said she had already called every­place imaginable but couldn't get any information.  I asked her if she had called Tommy’s Taxi and she answered that she didn’t know of their involve­ment.  I gave her the telephone number and wished her well.  Her parting words were, “I knew I should have called the Elks a long while ago. You guys are still taking care of people.”

 Now, I didn’t do anything difficult or noteworthy; I simply gave out a telephone number.  But the point of this narrative is that to this woman, who had been shuttled from pillar to post by various agencies and gotten nowhere, turned to the Elks for help only because of a long ago kindness and act of charity by a sister Lodge.  There was no need to tell her that “Elks Care - Elks Share” is not just a slo­gan.