Elks give to program

Van Wert Lodge 1197, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, recently donated $500 to First United Methodist Church for its Fifth Quarter program. This will be the sixth year for this program in Van Wert. The donation is from a Promise Grant the lodge received from the Elks National Foundation. The grants are made available to the Elks lodges to provide drug- and alcohol-free events for the children. The Fifth Quarter program is geared for middle school and high school students after all the home football games. Middle school students gather at the YMCA and high school students gather at the S.F. Goedde Building. Games are provided for the students, as well as pizza and beverages. The students are provided with a safe place to meet with their friends in an alcohol- and drug-free environment, with volunteers on hand to assist with games and chaperone the students. Shown are Mike Stanley (left), Lodge Elks National Foundation chairman, and Teresa Shaffer, Fifth Quarter chair. (Elks photo)