Major Fundraisers:
The Bellefonte Elks does two major fundraisers for Home Service, both raffles, one
for Grange Fair and one called CP Night (CP stands for Cerebral Palsy, which is
what the major project was years ago, but changed to Home Service, but the name
just stayed the same).
The Grange Fair fundraiser is a raffle, giving away $1000.00. It is held during the
Annual Grange Fair that is held in Centre Hall in August. This Fair runs for nine
days, and is attended by hundreds of thousand people. Raffle tickets are sold for
$2.00 each, or 6 for $10.00. Each member of the Lodge is mailed a letter and a
group of six tickets, which they are asked to purchase, with the option of
purchasing more, or asking friends and family if they would like to support this
fundraiser. The Elks also has a booth at the Fair, where the raffle tickets are sold,
along with raffling off two lottery ticket boards, which will be drawn on Tuesday
and on Saturday, the last night of the fair. The winners of the raffle tickets are
announced the last day of the Fair. The booth is open from 3pm to 9pm, and
members are asked to sign up for a two hour shift to man the booth and sell the
raffle tickets and chances for the lottery boards. The booth is decorated with a
Patriotic theme, supporting our Veterans. CP Night is held in late February or early March each Lodge year. This is also a
raffle, but with a few extras. The prize money given away is $1,000. Again, the
raffle tickets are $2.00 each or 6 for $10.00. The tickets are mailed to the
members with a letter, asking them to purchase the tickets, with the option of
purchasing more and asking friends and family to support the fundraiser as well.
Starting about one month before the drawing of the raffle winners, we ask
members and businesses to donate baskets for a Chinese Basket Raffle. All the
proceeds from the baskets benefits Home Service. Chances to win the baskets are
purchased for $20.00, which gives you 25 tickets to place in the jars of the baskets
you would like to win. This past CP Night, there were over 100 baskets to win!
These baskets are all donated by members and area businesses, so all the money
from the basket sales goes to Home Service. Our kitchen is open, and volunteers
are cooking up a great meal to purchase. The bar is also hopping! Members love
this event, it is a lot of fun, and very busy! There are usually several 50/50
drawings and rip tickets to win money!