Sixty large pepperoni pizzas may sound like plenty of pie to feed 480 people, but when those people are ravenous teenagers, it’s a different story. To add to their hunger, the teens had also spent hours shooting hoops, swimming and dancing at a Safe Night in Ferndale, Mich. The Ferndale Elks spent their entire $300 Promise Grant from the Elks National Foundation’s Community Investments Program on the pizzas.

“The Lodge backs the event all the way,” says Lodge Secretary Jerry Olli, who helped organize the event last fall. “Supporting the Safe Night is our way of doing something for the community.”

As a board member of Southeast Oakland Community Coalition, a partnership of four neighboring towns, Olli has helped plan four Safe Nights since 1997. The national program promotes drug awareness while offering kids a safe place to spend a Friday evening with fun, healthy activities and positive adult role models. A long-time volunteer for the Elks Drug Awareness Program and the Michigan state chair in 2002-03, Olli makes sure to incorporate the program into the Safe Night’s festivities. This year, Olli and Elks volunteers distributed brochures featuring tips for teens on how to say ‘no’ to drugs and passed out red ribbons, the national symbol of drug-abuse prevention, to every attendee, chaperone and teacher at the event.

“Our community knows that the Elks are there to help,” says Olli. “The school staff, students and parents all thanked us for being there.”

Teens Get the Message To plan last year’s Safe Night, the coalition enlisted the help of community youth groups. Students Against Destructive Decisions, Ferndale Youth Assistance and Students Taking a New Direction all took part in the planning process, which also involved Elk volunteers attending meetings over a three-month period. By working together, they developed an event that appealed to youth and conveyed an important message.

“All the people working together is what makes the event a success,” says Olli. “It’s important to get the kids and the community involved.”

Among the night’s greatest achievements, Olli says, was when three teens from Pathways, a substance abuse recovery center, spoke about their experiences with drug abuse and why they chose to become drug free. Other highlights of the night included a basketball workshop hosted by a member of the Detroit Pistons and a performance by the musical group QTMC, Quest to Make a Change. The group addresses issues such as drug prevention, anti-violence and negative peer pressure through lively, motivational music and dancing.

“The group teaches kids how to stay off drugs and be good citizens,” says Olli. “It leaves a pretty deep impression on them.”

Safe Night Every Night Since 1999, the Ferndale Lodge has received four ENF Promise Grants, which are available annually to the first 250 Lodges that pledge to host an event that builds the character and competence of youth. Olli hopes to continue applying for the grants to help fund the Lodge’s ongoing support of Safe Nights. Now that the grant has increased from $300 to $400, he knows the grant will allow the Lodge to do even more.

“I think the grant increase is excellent,” says Olli. “I tell all the Lodges in our district to apply for one—to go out and do something for their communities with it.”

With the Promise Grant amount increase, the Ferndale Elks will be able to buy more pizzas or other event necessities, but with the Community Investments Program’s new Impact Grants, they could take supporting Safe Night to a whole new level. The program offers competitive grants of up to $10,000 to Lodges that are looking to make a significant contribution locally. Instead of contributing to a Safe Night once a year, the Lodge could now apply for a grant to start their own program that would give kids a positive place to go after school—a program that would make every night a safe night.

The Community Investments Program includes Promise Grants, Gratitude Grants, Lodge Assistance Grants and Impact Grants. The Foundation has allocated $900,000 for the CIP in 2007-08. For more information about the program, including grant applications and eligibility requirements, please visit www.elks.org/enf/community.