Community Corner
Lacey Elks Poster Contest Winners Advance To District Contest
Lacey Township special needs children participate in Elks Poster Contest.
Twenty-three Lacey Township special needs children have collected their prize winnings from the Lacey Elks and are now headed to the district level of the New Jersey State Elks Special Education Poster Contest.
Special children from all of Lacey Township’s schools participated in the annual contest, meant to inform the public of the services available to children with disabilities from the New Jersey State Elks Handicapped Children’s Committee.
“The contest lets people know that our special friends are people, too,” said Tracey Barker, Lacey Elks Special Children’s Committee Chairman. “Sometimes the handicapped or special needs friends go unnoticed.”
Winners in the categories Grades K-4, 5-8 and High School were announced on March 10 and recognized at the Lacey Township Board of Education meeting on March 21. The first-place winners received prizes of $350. All 175 entries in this year’s contest were awarded certificates and Burger King free coupons.
In judging the entries, the judges looked for posters that stood out and had the meaning of what the Elks organization is all about.
For example, first-place winner, Brendan Gonzalez, 10, of Mill Pond School, drew Elks Camp Moore, a summer camp for handicapped, developmentally disabled and autistic children in Haskell, New Jersey.
Laura Prosser, 13, of Lacey Middle School won first-place for her drawing of Somerset Handicapped Children’s Treatment Center, Somerville, another Elks service project which provides various treatment programs and therapies for disabled children.
Sarah Zlotek, 17, of Lacey Township High School took first place for her poster, “Elks Help Children with Special Needs.” Handicapped children are the New Jersey Elks major project, as described in their slogan, “Helping handicapped children to help themselves.”
A Beach Dance Party fundraiser will be held at the lodge on Beach Blvd. in the Forked River section of the township 6 to 9 p.m. on April 23.
“All the money raised by our fundraisers go to support the events we hold for our special needs friends: luncheons, picnics, holiday parties, Camp Moore and donations, as well,” said Barker.
