Funds from Purple Bubble Ball to benefit area children in need
One of the sad realities of life is that people fall through the cracks of society.
Since 1954, the Washington State Elks have helped to provide a safety net for families facing the daunting need to care for a child with muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and other diseases.
Between government and insurance providers, people facing such major challenges find themselves in dire need of help.
For more than 50 years, the Washington Elks Therapy Program for Children has brought licensed practitioners into homes and provided free physical and occupational therapy to families in need, frequently helping train parents to better care for their children with such diseases. The lodge estimates that as many as 80 percent of the families receiving these services could not afford them otherwise.
The Greater Spokane Elks Lodge No. 228 will hold its annual Purple Bubble Ball and silent auction to raise money for the program next Saturday.
“This is the way many of the Elks lodges do it – they hold an event to raise money to send in to support the program,” lodge trustee Gilbert Allen explained. “We’ve been doing this now for as long as I can remember.”
Tickets are $15 per person, and the public is cordially invited to attend to help the cause.
The evening gets underway at 6 p.m. with a prime rib dinner. A silent auction follows the food, with the night capped off by dancing to live music.
“Our members have been out scouring the area, talking to area business and soliciting donations for the auction,” Allen explained. “Plus our members donate items individually. Everything will be spread out on tables and people can bid on them, with all proceeds going to the therapy program.”
The program is limited to children under the age of 21, and each child must have a physician’s prescription. It is not restricted to children of Elks Lodge members. All services are provided free of charge and the family is never asked if they can afford to pay.
According to the state lodge’s Web site, “Physical and occupational therapy does improve the physical condition of a disabled child and, in many instances, assists them in becoming wholly independent of aid from others to feed, clothe, ambulate and help themselves. Were it not for the Washington Elks Therapy Program, many hundreds of young people who are walking today would not be doing so. In every playground where children gather, there are several young people who would not be there if it were not for the Elks Therapy Program for Children.”