Newport Harbor Cruise for Visually Impaired Veterans

On Wednesday, July 26, Newport Harbor Elks hosted its second harbor cruise for visually impaired veterans from the Long Beach Veterans Hospital. Phil Bradley, Lodge Veterans Chairman with the assistance of Maureen Schaller, Lodge Trustee coordinated the event.

It was a beautiful sunny day to treat 20 veterans plus their aides and bus driver. The veterans arrived at 9:30 am to a ‘welcome and get-to-know-you’ continental breakfast before boarding 3 covered pontoon boats. The boats were captained by members Frank Cuccia, Dan Roach and David Armstrong. The feel of the sun, the breeze and the ocean smells were enjoyed by the veterans and Elk volunteers. Two of the sightless veterans stated they tried to touch the water but couldn’t reach it from the boat. Next year the lodge will find a way that the Veterans are able to touch the water to cover that sense of ‘touch’.

After the cruise, everyone enjoyed a ham and crispy fried chicken lunch. Of course it included all the trimmings and dessert. During lunch there was music, laughter and a lot of interesting conversation. Phil Bradley gave a brief presentation on the lodge, Elkdom and told them about the purple pigs on the lunch tables. Those pigs are for members and visitors to the lodge to make a donation to the ‘Purple Pig’ funds. The Purple Pig is the fundraising arm of the California-Hawaii Elks Association Major Project, Inc. (CHEMPI).who has raised over $116.2 MILLION since 1950 to address the unmet needs of children with disabilities by developing a program of supporting services to aid these children at no cost to their families.

The day was topped off with a group picture, and a gift bag full of goodies including a $25 dollar gift card that was given to each veteran… they told the lodge they loved the gift and really showed their excitement! It was a rewarding day for the lodge volunteers.