"No Man Stands So Straight And Tall As When He Stoops To Lift Up A Child." James J. Davis Chairman of the Loyal Order of Moose War Relief Commission in 1918
The Moose fraternity has a long history with helping children. Since 1913, the Moose fraternity has helped children from around the United States. They provide a nurturing and secure environment in which to learn and grow and this place is called Mooseheart. It is within this same helping spirit that the Moose fraternity has started the Tommy Moose program. Tommy Moose is a 12 inch plush stuffed animal that is given to first responders in the field to help them comfort children in traumatic situations. Who knew that a 12 inch stuffed animal could make such an impact?
When a child experiences a traumatic event like domestic violence, natural disaster, accident or otherwise, Tommy Moose is there to comfort them. Our Tommy Moose program gets these comforting stuffed animals into the hands of first responders to give to children in distress.
Tommy Moose is making a difference. First responders from around the country are praising the program as successful and helpful. The Tommy Moose program is fast approaching a milestone. They have given more than 100,000 of these friendly and comforting stuffed animals to departments around the nation.
On Sunday, May 13, 2012, our lodge with the support of our dedicated members donated two dozen plush Tommy Moose’s to Fairfax City’s police department. We want to thank Lieutenant Hunt and Officer Davis for accepting our donation. Lieutenant Hunt told us about how these Tommy’s would help children in distress. He said they would be in the back of a patrol cruisers right away. The Fairfax City Police department does such a great job each and every day. We thank and praise them for all their hard work.
Click on the photo for a larger image.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 08:14
And The Clothing Donations Just Keep Coming In
Written by Wendy Barboza
Wednesday, 02 May 2012 06:25
In addition to the food drive, our Lodge Members continue to support our clothing drive. In the first few months of this year, our members have already donated $5,900 in clothing items! At this rate, we will probably break last year’s record. Thank you so much for your generosity and keep cleaning out those closets!
Most of the clothing was delivered to the Western Fairfax Christian Ministry (WFCM) Thrift Store located in Chantilly, VA. The Thrift Store is open every day except for Sunday and supports our neighbors in need in Fairfax County, Virginia. Two of the clothing deliveries went to Cedar Run Community Church who was assisting a non-profit organization called Door of Hope. The special donation drive collected bikes and clothing for needy people in Nicaragua.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 May 2012 08:05
Awestruck By Generosity
Written by Wendy Barboza
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 09:08
A big thanks to all of our members for making our food collection drive such a success! Since the beginning of this year, we have collected 563 food items. We see and count all the items of food brought in to the lodge each week. Your generosity shows no signs of waning. The food pantry can use everything from cans of corn, cans of chili, and yes even packages of ramen noodles. The food collected is delivered to the Saint Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Food Pantry located in Chantilly, VA. The Food Pantry is open the third Saturday of every month. The food pantry's requests for assistance fluctuates each month, but currently they are helping to feed over 125 families in our local area. To spur members into giving, for each food item you bring in, you will receive a coupon good for an extra $1000.00 dollars in chips at any of our Free Texas Holdem poker tournaments. The chip coupons and chips received have no real cash value. If you are not a poker player, donations can also be dropped off in the big black box under the coat rack in the main hallway.
Your donations are sincerely appreciated. Thanks to all our wonderful members of the Centreville Moose Lodge for continuing to support our year-round food drive.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 May 2012 14:40
Thank You for Saving a Life
Written by Mike Cogburn
Friday, 27 April 2012 06:37
On April 6th of this year, our Lodge participated in the 1st annual Blood Drive. It was a sight to see that big purple bloodmobile parked right out side our doors. Personally speaking, it filled me with pride and made a bold statement to all who passed by our Lodge that day. We are involved and helpful to our friends and neighbors in the community. Come on inside and see what we do and become a part of it. I want to thank each and every one of you who signed up. A total of 34 people registered – 3 for Alyx (double red cell procedures) and 27 units of blood were donated – 6 from Alyx procedures. On behalf of the patients and families and friends who will benefit from your gifts of life, thank you for your generosity.
Currently they are experiencing a very critical shortage of O negative. Lodge members who missed the blood drive, please contact them about giving at one of their other locations. Call 1-866-256-6372 or visit www.inova.org/donateblood.Use sponsor code 7889. Our drive was a great success and I want to especially thank Goose who recruited additional donors and signed two new members. I want to thank Barbara for helping with the sign-in desk. Thanks to Mark Smith for taping off the parking lot and getting the bus set-up. To those of you who took time away from family and friends on a holiday to make a special trip just to donate and support our lodge, thank you. To the first time donors Kim and Wendy, thank you for your courage. To those who tried to donate and where unable to, thanks for the try. Let that be a wake-up call to all of us to have regular check-ups and follow the Dr.'s orders. We love our members so please be mindful to eat right and exercise as often as possible. If you donated and didn't get to sign the Blood drive Poster, let me know asap. I want to get that framed. Please give me any feedback or suggestions on how we can improve on the 2nd Annual Blood drive. WELL DONE!!
Last Updated on Friday, 27 April 2012 14:20
Moose Members Clean Street, Find Trash
Written by Dan Sullivan
Friday, 13 April 2012 06:43
On Saturday, April 7, 2012, the Centreville Moose Lodge held its quarterly Adopt A Spot - Road Clean Up. It was a great day for the clean up. The weather helped in so many ways too! Sunny skies and 70 degrees were on tap. We had a great turn out by the lodge. We started the work at nine AM sharp. The lodge provided breakfast burritos for the entire crew from Anita’s of Fairfax. Work continued well into the afternoon. We managed to fill Tom Hoover's dump truck up again! Thanks to Tom Hoover, Blake Simon and George Barboza for providing many of the tools needed for this months clean up. Many thanks to all the unmentioned members that gave their time to help this lodge look great too! We still have more improvements coming to the lodge. We have a load of fresh mulch coming to keep the weeds down in the flower beds around the lodge. We will be posting another article on the website if we need additional Moose muscle to get that job done. To state that there were a lot of members helping this time is an understatement. Please accept our gratitude for your unwavering support of the City of Fairfax and our lodge! Click on photo for larger picture.
