The Bellefonte Elks Lodge 1094 Garver Fund is a charitable endowment created from the estate of David B. Garver, an Elks member who died in 1975 and left his remaining funds to the lodge for the benefit of needy persons and civic projects in the Bellefonte area. Functioning as an independent charitable trust with assets of roughly $700–800K, the fund distributes its annual investment income—typically tens of thousands of dollars—to area nonprofits and community projects such as fire companies, libraries, youth programs, and local scholarships, with giving restricted to organizations serving the Bellefonte vicinity rather than directly to individuals.
Through its Garver Fund, the Bellefonte Elks Lodge # 1094 continues to provide community support to entities in its service area. Most recently, the Garver Fund supported the Summer Sounds at the Gazebo, in the amount of $1,800.
Its commitment to community support through giving never waivers! The Bellefonte Elks Lodge # 1094, through its Garver Fund, donated $2,500 to the Bellefonte Cruise. These funds will support the event promotion and performance fees.
The Bellefonte Elks Lodge # 1094, through its Garver Fund, continues to impact the local community with its giving. The Bellefonte Elks, through its Garver Fund, awarded $2,000 to the Bellefonte YMCA. The Award will provide support for financial assistance to members’ child care needs, swim lessons, and the weekend backpack food program, which provides a weekend bag of food for children with food insecurities.
The Bellefonte Elks Lodge # 1094 and the Bellefonte Elks Trustees, through its Garver Fund, teamed up and donated $4750 to the Walker Township Fire Company for much needed lifesaving equipment. The Fire Company plans to use the funds to purchase thermal imaging equipment, used to locate fire victims. Additionally, the Fire Company plans to purchase emergency plug kits, which are used to fight fires in all-electric vehicles.
Emergency situations are a way of life for fire companies, and the Howard Fire Company is no different. The Bellefonte Elks Lodge # 1094 provided an assist to communications efforts during emergencies, by providing a $3,000 Garver Fund grant. The grant was aimed specifically at two-way radio purchases, to assist with communications effort with other emergency responders.
The Bellefonte Elks Lodge # 1094, continued to honor its commitment to community service through its Garver Fund. The Lodge Trustees approved a $2,136 grant to be used for designing, building, and purchasing a new hexagon desk carousel for the Centre County Library and Historical Museum’s public computers. This new computer space will increase privacy for its users.
