A few months ago, the members of the Ruidoso chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks began volunteering with Sweet Charity, the resale boutique run by Help End Abuse for Life (HEAL) to support The Nest. One dozen Elks signed up to help pick up large donations when donors cannot arrange transportation on their own. Since then, the group has made several large trips.
Elks fraternal chair Marty Buse is one of many volunteers, and is the individual who originally came up with the idea of the partnership and team. She was inspired to act by a discussion with her son, HEAL staff writer Michael Hoppal. “I already knew they needed help, but when I heard how many donations the store was losing, I knew I needed to help,” Buse said.
Buse asked her husband Al and a room full of other Elks members to join her crusade. Soon, the pick-ups began.
Buse knew she wanted to do more. While researching grants offered by the Elks National Foundation, she found several that could be used for community causes. She wrote several grants for local Elks’ programs, including veterans’ benefits and a children’s Christmas party and school supplies. Buse and her son proposed to write two additional grants for HEAL and The Nest. Not surprisingly, the Elks leaders unanimously voted in favor.
“I knew that if the shop could get its own truck, it would be that much easier on them,” said Buse. “I want them to keep having the means to get donations even when and if, someday, the Elks are not a part of it anymore.”
Buse also wanted to see the shop get a truck so that shelter staff could help former residents of The Nest to move into their new homes. “I know how much trouble it can be to move, and I would hate for these women – or these kids – to lose something they deeply value because of the inconvenience,” Buse said.
A few weeks after the application was submitted, Buse stopped by The Nest with Elks Lecturing Knight Bill Scott to hand-deliver the news: a $2,000 grant had been approved. Scott, a manager with Wells Fargo, also agreed to provide free financial education resources for the residents at The Nest.
“I can only speak for myself, but I think the most important thing I will take from these past few months is the sense that we’re giving back to our community in a big way,” Buse said. “I hope we’re also helping to get more volunteers, because we’re doing this in a way that not everybody knows is there. Sweet Charity could be a world-famous shopping experience, but I think a lot of us forget that they need all the help that The Nest does.”
“What the Elks have done is important to us at Sweet Charity because they are helping to make sure we avoid missing out on the opportunity for great donations,” said Susanne Francis, HEAL Office Manager and Supervisor at Sweet Charity. “We are very grateful for the grant money they have brought in for us, because getting a truck will make our work more efficient. They are supporting us and valuing Sweet Charity as a key part of HEAL, and that means a lot to us.”
Pictured are Bill Scott, Coleen Widell and Marty Buse with a $2,000 donation to aid in the purchase of a truck to pick up large donations for the Sweet Charity Resale Boutique.
