Marlton NJ Elks Lodge #2514 Community News

06/05/2026

🌟 Celebrating Hometown Heroes 🌟

Last Friday, Miss Funk from Marlton Elementary was recognized at the The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks - Marlton NJ Lodge #2514 Hometown Heroes Banquet for inspiring her third-grade class to give back.

Earlier this year, the Marlton Elks visited her classroom through the Karen Minutella Reading Initiative, sharing a love of reading and giving each student a book. The visit also gave students a meaningful look at the Elks’ commitment to literacy, service, veterans, and the broader community.

Inspired by that visit, Miss Funk’s class collected donations to support the Elks and their continued work. At the banquet, both the Marlton Elks and Evesham Township recognized Miss Funk for the kindness, generosity, and community spirit she helped foster in her classroom.

Congratulations, Miss Funk! We are proud to celebrate you, your students, the Marlton Elks, and the power of kindness and literacy coming together. 📚❤️

05/26/2026

05/09/2026

05/09/2026

We honor the servicemen and servicewomen throughout the years during Armed Forces Week, May 9-May 16, 2026. Our Lodge's Veterans Committee, Army of Hope Committee and Americanism Committee honor our active military and veterans throughout the year. Be sure to thank all for their service to country whenever possible.

04/05/2026

Join us at the annual Batters Up Competition sponsored by the Marton Elks, with the support of the Marlton Rec Council. Stop by ready to be at bat on May 17, between 9am and noon at Arrowhead Park.
The long-standing NJ State Elks Batters Up Competition is a terrific program for our youth. This hitting competition is extremely popular in our NJ communities. Competitions are held at a local lodge level and competitors move to the regional and state competition levels based upon the participant's performance. Bring your family and friends to enjoy this free event. We will also have face painting, water ice and pretzels. Register your child at the field. Bring a copy of their birth certificateto participate. The child’s age bracket is determined as of July 31 of the current year. Age brackets are as follows: 5-6 (from a tee) and 7-15 years old. Girls will have the option of softball or baseball. Bring a helmet and current league rule bats (no wood bats). Safety is of the utmost importance. All contestants, parents and volunteers need to stay aware of their surroundings for fly balls. Thank you to Marlton Rec Council for their annual support of volunteers, fields and equipment. We look forward to seeing you at Batters Up. Play Ball!

04/04/2026

The Robert B. Jaggard Elementary School was our last Evesham School to visit during the current '25/'26 school year for the NJ Elks Karen Minutella Reading Initiative. We visited two 3rd grade classrooms as part of Read Across America and the Elks ongoing commitment to our nation's youth in our own community. We engaged the students on the impact and enrichment that can come by belonging to a club. The students told us how they belong to music clubs, scouting, reading clubs, and brick clubs, to name a few. The Marlton Elks Lodge is a club dedicated to charitable giving, volunteerism and community investment. The students shared their stories of giving back to others. We talked about how our lodge gives back to active military and veterans. We talked about appreciating our service members because of the freedoms we are able to enjoy in the USA. The students were proud to declare their moms, dads, siblings, uncles, aunts and grandparents who are serving or have served. And we talked about sports: basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer. The Elks sponsor competitions every year, working closely with the Marlton Rec Council, with added fun activities like face painting and pretzels. Some of the students wrote those dates down and were probably going to talk to their parents about the upcoming Batters Up Competition on May 17. And then we enjoyed reading the first two chapters of Judy Blume's FRECKLE JUICE to the students, asking them to predict if the book was going to be fiction or non-fiction. Afterwards, we gave each student a new copy of the book to keep, take home and finish, and encouraged them to read aloud to their families. We are looking forward to the next school year when once again we will be calling upon the school district's principals to allow us the privilege of making this an annual event.

The author, Judy Blume, was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023. She was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and graduated from New York University in 1961. She is a national treasure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Blume

04/04/2026

The Marlton NJ Elks Lodge #2514 visited the classrooms Marlton's Rice Elementary School on Thursday February 19. Five Lodge Members and thirty-eight 3rd grade students across two classes participated in the Karen Minutella Reading Initiative, honoring Karen, a compassionate Elk who loved reading to children and encouraging 3rd graders to enjoy the fun and excitement of reading.

All of the students and their teachers received a free copy of the book FRECKLE JUICE by Judy Blume. There was lots of interaction, laughter and fun discovering our common ground including belonging to a club knowing people who are veterans or in the military, and feeling good about helping others. We read the first two chapters of the book to the students, leaving them wondering what was going to happen next, and requesting they finish the book at home, including sharing the story with their siblings.

Many thanks to Marlton Elks Lodge volunteers: Mike Grimes (project lead), Vicki Russo, Craig Vollmer, Michael Pomillio, and Arline Cahill. And special thanks to those who made direct donations to this program and the many Lodge members and greater Marlton community who participate in our fundraisers that help fulfill our passion of making a difference in our community.

Next up will be visits to the 3rd graders at St. Joan's and DeMasi Elementary Schools.