Editor’s note: The Ouray County Plaindealer is continuing its tradition of featuring nonprofit organizations based in Ouray County, serving Ouray County in a series of profiles called Season of Sharing. The purpose is to highlight the meaningful work these organizations perform and let the community know how they can help them even more, as the holidays approach and we reach the end of 2025. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of nonprofit organizations in Ouray County.

Year established as a nonprofit: 1899 What does your organization do for Ouray County?

Our main focus is on children and veterans. There are several programs for children, the sweetest one being Santa Delivers. This program has been going on for about 100 years. Our Elks members dress up as Santa and deliver presents (at no cost) on Christmas Eve to the children of Ouray County when parents notify the lodge the desire to participate. In addition to Santa Delivers, we hold the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the park and give out candy and stuffed animals to the kids. For the bigger kids (high school seniors) we give out annual scholarships. We have a drug awareness program as well.

We have an annual Veterans’ Spaghetti Dinner and Turkey Bingo where all proceeds are donated to local veterans organizations, including Welcome Home Alliance and the VA Medical Center in Grand Junction. We also have volunteers who visit the VA Medical Center many times a year with either baked goods or ice cream sundaes.

We host an annual free community Thanksgiving dinner and in 2025 we served over 100 dinners. New Year’s Eve is always special an event open to the public with free karaoke until midnight, where everyone meets out front to watch the fireworks. Our lodge is very active in the summertime with a weekly bingo and our famous July 4 festivities, which are also open to the public.

We have vibrant social activities, including Friday night dinners, a bowling alley with two lanes where we host fall and spring bowling leagues for our members.

If you haven’t seen the bowling alley it is very cool!

No automatic pin setting here. All of the bowling pins have to be set manually. Karaoke is also a big deal at our lodge. It is free to members and their guests and is held twice a month. Other events include summer Taco Tuesday and other special events for members and guests.

What do you list as your greatest accomplishments in 2025?

We had two big projects completed relating to our building, which was built in 1905. The first was repairing our roof. We had a generous donor help with the funds for this project. The most noticeable improvement was the addition of a ADA-compliant ramp and patio on the south side of our building. This allows our members, guests and the public to enter the main floor of the lodge without having to climb stairs. We are still accepting donations to cover the entire cost. We also gave $2,500 in grants to local nonprofits.

What are some goals or projects you have for 2026?

We have a goal of increasing our membership in our beautiful lodge. Also, if you have ever been to bingo in the summer, you will notice there are a LOT of stairs to climb up to the lodge room where bingo is held. We will continue to work toward upgrading our electrical system for our 120-year-old building and plan to add an elevator for those who need assistance getting upstairs.

Please tell us how the community can help you do more in Ouray County:

The Elks Lodge is a service organization and we contribute to our community. Please attend our events and consider becoming an Elk. Our veterans chairman is Manette Steele, and she organizes volunteers to participate in veterans-related events.

We are accepting donations to provide supplies for our children or veterans events and to upgrade our building to make it accessible for all. Our major fundraising is our summer bingo and annual raffles, and participating in those events helps us raise funds.

Anyone interested in becoming a member or making a donation can call or email Elks Lodge Secretary Jill Scheu at 970-318-8489 or ourayelks492@gmail.com.

Our mailing address is P.O. Box 647, Ouray, CO 81427.

Please visit our website www.ourayelks.org for more information and to view events on our calendar.

Thank you to Liz Owens and Jill Scheu for submitting this information.