Mankato Elks event to help benefit at-risk youth

Oct. 21—The Mankato Elks Lodge has more than 100 bottles of wine on the wall, on their way to 300. When people take one down, members will pass around the proceeds to one of their many community efforts that benefit children and veterans.

This year's Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting event Nov. 2 at the Loose Moose Saloon and Conference Center will help the organization regain some of the traction that was lost when the pandemic put a hold on their events. At the front of promoting it are member Tabitha Melvin and Exalted Ruler Carie Becker.

"People don't know what we do," Melvin said, "and the wine event is a huge event" that helps fund so much of what they do throughout the year.

Proceeds will go to youth projects, including Christmas for Underprivileged Youth (clothing gifts), 10 scholarships of $1,000 each, Youth Camp that will send a dozen or more kids on an all-expenses trip to camp on Pelican Lake and assistance to MY Place and The REACH.

The list is impressive when you see it all in one place, which their annual Elks Impact and Event Statement does. Besides youth, it includes a Flag Day celebration, Cops and Bobbers program, Thanksgiving Day meals, Christmas gifts for at-risk youth and Mankato Elks Community Inclusion Bowling event.

Veterans get support through gas and grocery gift cards, the MN Elks Youth Camp, Welcome Home kits, hospice blanket program, Sweats for Vets, Veterans Stockings, the Veterans Resource Center in Winnebago and Mission 22 support for veteran suicide prevention and family support.

In addition to the wine wall, the event will include a silent auction and performance by Bryce Leppert Music, a rising country artist from Owatonna.

"One of the biggest things is that we have a lot of helpers behind the scenes," Melvin said. "We've got a team of seven, eight people that are really critical in making sure that we're organizing donations and sponsorships."

As with the organization itself, which is more than 130 years old in Mankato, with each new member to the committee come new ideas and energy.

"I joined the Elks because of the veterans part because my dad's a veteran. But we also help with at-risk youth, and that's a passion area for me," she said, citing her work as a special education teacher.

The evolution of the event, with the addition of bourbon tasting, echoes what the Elks Club has been undergoing. Formerly with a club building on North Riverfront Drive, they now meet at other locations so all money raised can benefit veterans and youth, Becker said.

For a number of years, the event was at North Links Golf Course. The move to a more central location, where they hold their meetings as well, brings it more prominence and has led to growth.

Women were first able to join the Elks in 1994, said Becker, who is the first woman to be exalted ruler in Mankato. She got involved when attending the events, then became secretary before becoming the leading knight two years ago and then her current position.

As with other organizations, membership is dwindling as longtime members die, so highlighting who benefits from Elks funding is also a recruitment tool to get members who want to help their community. The emphasis is on working to not duplicate community services.

"We'd like to collaborate more with organizations such as Kiwanis and MY Place and all of the nonprofits in our region to assist these do more with less, not reinvent the wheel. We want to work together," Becker said.

"It would be great to work together with these organizations to make a better impact for our youth and underserved."

If You Go What: Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting, with silent auction and music by Bryce Leppert When: 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 Where: Loose Moose Saloon & Conference Center, 119 S. Front St. Tickets: $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Available at the event link on https://www.facebook.com/MNElks225 Must be 21 years of age to attend