·         The Elks were founded in 1868 in New York by a group of 15 actors and has grown to approximately 1 million members nationwide.

·      We have approximately 29,000 Elks in Michigan.  Clawson-Troy is one of 71 Lodges in the state and one of over 2,100 throughout the United States.

·      Clawson-Troy was instituted in 1960, we currently have about 400 members, and our dues are $60.00 per year plus assessments. 

 The primary goal of the Elks is to help others:

·         Every state has a major project.  In Michigan, our Major Project is Handicapped Children.

·         Each year the State sends special needs children to therapy camps.

·         The “365 Penny Banks” help fund these programs.

·         The motto of the National Veterans Service Commission is “As long as there are Veterans, we will never forget them”.

·         The Elks built the first army field hospital in World War I and later built the first Veterans hospital in Boston, which was later donated to the United States Government.

·         Clawson-Troy Lodge started the “Adopt-A-Veteran” program and the Elks have “adopted” over 140,000 veterans nationwide.  (Birthday cards, Christmas cards, gifts etc.)

·         Once a month the Clawson-Troy veterans committee runs a bingo game at the Detroit V.A. hospital and gives out canteen books as prizes, all funded by the Lodge.  Value of goods and services for the veterans nationwide has exceeded $16 million.

·         Flag Day was made a mandatory program by the Elks in 1908 and President Harry S. Truman (who was an Elk) made it an official holiday in 1947.

·         Clawson-Troy  annually participates in the Clawson Memorial Day Parade and the Clawson 4^th of July Parade where we carry state flags.  (We have over 60 flags we can carry.)

·         Elks have donated over $3.4 million nationwide for scholarships to deserving students.

·         The Elks are recognized as one of largest providers of college scholarships in the United States.

·         Michigan gives out 71 - $1000.00 scholarships each year at the State level.  The State winners go on to National competition where the top boy and top girl will receive $15,000 a year for 4 years or $60,000.

·         Clawson-Troy has the “Ole Clippert” scholarship for Clawson-Troy member’s children only.  ($1,000.00 for 3 years)

·               Vocational scholarships for the handicapped called the “Gold Key”.

·                 Scholarships for children of Elks.  (Legacy Award)

·                 Scholarship applications are available in the schools after September 1^st or you can contact the Lodge – 
        the deadline each year is in November.

·         The largest and most successful is the Hoop Shoot.  Each year we have over 3 million boys and girls participate.  It is the largest coeducational sports activity in the U.S. and we have recently started a similar Soccer-Shoot program.

·         Clawson-Troy has a Venturing Crew for boys and girls 14 – 21.  If you are interested, you can contact Joe or Nancy Steimel.

·         Clawson-Troy started the “Elks Pumpkin Patch” for handicapped children plus we have a members children Christmas Party, a Halloween Party, and an Easter Egg Hunt.   

·         The Elks Drug Awareness program is targeted toward Education and Prevention.  We supply thousands of free pamphlets and other information each year to students, parents, schools, and many youth organizations about the harmful effects of using drugs.

·         Last year the cash donations, goods, and services are valued at over $200 million dollars.

·         Since the inception of the Elks,  we have surpassed $3 billion in our charitable programs.

 The Elks are not all work and no play.  We have a lot of fun too!

·         We offer family entertainment and have many social activities for the members to enjoy.

·         If you are interested in joining us, please ask a member to sponsor you or you can contact one of the Lodge Officers or the Lodge Office at (248) 435-8104.  If you are already a member, please use this to help explain our many programs to your prospective members.  We are a great organization and we would like more people to know about who we are and what we do.