Breakfast with Santa
The Breakfast with Santa event takes place during the month of December. It provides an opportunity for all of the children in the community to enjoy a breakfast with Santa while receiving a couple of gifts. A couple other organizations in the community had events where Santa gave out gifts to children while a meal was served.
Unfortunately all of the organizations have stopped doing this event because of a lack of funding. The Carlinville Elks has since started up another Breakfast with Santa event. There has been a large amount of interest from both Lodge members and community members willing to donate their time to help organize this event.
The event consists of a breakfast meal held on a Saturday. After the meal, each child will get a chance to interact with Santa while receiving a gift. Some of the gifts will include snacks, coloring books, art supplies, action figures, etc. Each year has been different. Since its inception, this project has been a big morale booster in the community of Carlinville. Just like many other small towns across America, Carlinville suffers from a larger than average poverty level. The Breakfast with Santa event assures that all children in attendance receive a healthy breakfast. It also allows for them to receive a gift from Santa when they may not otherwise receive one.
A Breakfast with Santa Committee has been formed with volunteers from the Carlinville Elks Lodge. Each member is tasked with a different responsibility to ensure the success of the program. Members are charged with contacting each of the local schools to help spread the awareness of the project. The local schools consist of Carlinville Elementary School, Carlinville Kindergarten, Carlinville Elementary School and Carlinville Intermediate School. The best contacts at each of the schools are the nurses and the guidance counselors. They both have the most contact with higher risk children. The Carlinville Elks Organization works with the Carlinville Area Hospital and the local Food Pantry. These organizations are able to help spread the word via a social media campaign that already have a large following. Elk members are also involved in preparing the meal for all of the children and their families. The Elks Kitchen Crew is responsible for the food. Other members help serve the food and then help give away some of the gifts. These members are also responsible for talking with the kids while they wait in line to talk to Santa. Most importantly, an Elk member also fills the role of Santa.
The ultimate goal of this program is to bring joy to the families in the Carlinville community around the holiday season!