Welcome Home Kits are for new beginnings. For a veteran who has experienced homelessness, the securing of permanent housing should be accompanied by increased feelings of self-worth and self-sufficiency. In this time of hope for the future, Elks Lodges can make sure that veterans overcoming hardship know that the community has their backs.

The Elks National Veterans Service Commission provides Welcome Home Kit reimbursements to Lodges that donate home furnishings to recently housed veterans. Since reimbursements through the ENVSC have some limitations (funds can only be spent on home goods and there is a limit on the amount that can be reimbursed for beds), many Lodges use CIP grants to supplement their Welcome Home programs. Welcome Home projects are one of the seven project plans available under the Spotlight Grant, and they can also be completed with a Beacon or Gratitude Grant.

With Spotlight Grant funds, Eureka-Pacific, Mo., Lodge No. 2644 assembles kits that include a new bed, kitchen items, cleaning supplies and food. In 2024, it supported about 130 veterans, but the Lodge has found the relationships that result from Welcome Home Kit deliveries are often just as impactful as the supplies.

Through better understanding of the veteran’s situation, the Lodge can purchase additional items specifically requested by the veteran. One veteran needed clothes for a prospective job as a security guard, which required new black shoes, socks, shirt and a hat. He got the job, and he called the Lodge to celebrate when he received his commercial driver’s license, another step toward new opportunities.

The Eureka-Pacific Elks also connected with a veteran who had suffered a severe head injury in Afghanistan. He was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a mobile home that did not have running water or a working sewage system. Elks helped him get his sewer and water system hooked up, remodeled his bathroom, and provided groceries. The veteran stayed in touch and eventually joined the Lodge. He now regularly helps with deliveries of Welcome Home Kits to his fellow veterans.

“The Spotlight Grant goes a long way in allowing our Lodge to help homeless veterans start over with dignity,” says Grants Coordinator Marianne Bouras. “We are working year-round on helping those that just got off the street and are starting a new chapter in their lives.”

Amarillo, Texas, Lodge No. 923 uses a Spotlight Grant to bolster an ongoing Welcome Home program of its own. Since Welcome Home projects under the Spotlight Grant can be used for more items than can be reimbursed for through the ENVSC, the Amarillo Lodge purchases and stores supplies and donations, then delivers the items straight to the veteran’s new home.

“Recently we have been receiving referrals from our local V.A. and have been busier than ever,” says Grants Coordinator Derek Brewer. “The Lodge has seen the success of the Welcome Home program when we show up with just a few things to make veterans’ lives a little better. The gratitude in their voices when they say, ‘thank you’ is immeasurable.”

The Amarillo Lodge merged its Gratitude Grant with the Spotlight Grant, giving it $6,000 to support local veterans.

Loudoun, Va., Lodge No. 2406 uses its Spotlight Grant to support its wide-ranging Welcome Home program. The Lodge is located near Washington, D.C., which is home not only to the headquarters of the V.A., but also more than 300 veterans experiencing homelessness. The Lodge uses its grant funds to primarily purchase furniture and food, which members deliver and help to assemble. But that’s not where the relationship ends—Elks also do weekly phone calls and follow up visits to ensure the veteran is settling in and has everything they need for their new home.

There have been great strides made in the reduction of veteran homelessness in recent years. Through a government voucher system that offers housing to veterans experiencing homelessness at reduced or no cost, veteran homelessness has fallen by more than 50% in the last 15 years, according the VA. But while the voucher provides a living space, it takes more than just four walls to make a house a home. That’s where the Elks step in to provide essential supplies, a sympathetic ear, and a resource that veterans know will always be there for them.

For more information on the Community Investments Program, visit elks.org/cip, or contact the CIP office at 773/755-4730 or LodgeGrants@elks.org.