Julie Nelson
Mooseheart Chair
(714) 267-5772
Jdn4801@sbcgobal.net
Hello everyone and Happy New Year,
The new quarterly publication of ‘From the Heart’ has been posted online and can be accessed at www.mooseheart.org. There are lots of photos of the kids and the events reported on in my November Gold Miner article. Please check it out.
The new year at Mooseheart has brought lots of cold weather and snow. Over 10 inches has dropped so far. The staff and the kids have been busy trying to dig the campus out before the next storm.
The kids are back from winter break and celebrated during the Martin Luther King weekend by opening all the gifts they received from the units of The Moose all around the USA and Canada.
Six new students were admitted to Mooseheart in January and are settling into their new homes. Eight new family teachers have also been added to the rolls and began their training on January 15th. They have a projected start time for assignment to their family homes in February. This is great news and means with the addition of new teachers more students will be admitted in the near future. Seven new student applications were reviewed and accepted in the January admissions meeting.
The Winter Sports Program at Mooseheart is going strong. Boys’ basketball and wrestling are in full swing. Coach Bryan Miller has brought girls bowling back to the campus. On November 27th, the girls competed in the first bowling match since 2004.
February brings the annual ‘Fitness in February’ competition. All the students participate in a month-long program in which they earn points for their participation in a variety of activities that keep them moving during the cold winter month. At the end of the month the students who accumulated the most points win prizes. The points are then used to get them time in the MAC Center.
The Seniors will be busy in February planning Valentine’s Day activities, and they are hosting a special Valentine’s fundraiser at the school. They are also in the final planning stages of the senior trip. This year in April the seniors will be visiting the Wisconsin Lodges and Chapters for their community service activities. 42% of the Mooseheart students are expected to have completed their mandatory 25 hours of community service by the end of February. Each student is required to meet this goal annually. By the end of February everyone at Mooseheart will be eagerly awaiting the onset of warmer weather so they can get back outside for their sports and activities.
If you know of a child that needs help or may qualify to go to Mooseheart please E-mail me.
Happy New Year from the staff and students at Mooseheart!
Guidelines For The Mooseheart Sunshine Program
The minimum a lodge or chapter needs to do for their Sunshine child is to send a birthday card/gift as well as a Christmas card/gift, but there is no real limit – and most lodges and chapters go far above those basics. We prefer that you send a tangible gift, chosen for them, rather than a gift card. Gift cards are very difficult to regulate, and we prefer a check for the student’s savings account if you choose not to provide a tangible gift.
What we want to do is build a passion within your lodge or chapter to connect with the life of this child. The whole point of sponsoring a child is to let them know that there are Moose members who care about them and support them. Whatever you choose to do and whatever your resources allow, do it with the knowledge that you’re giving hope and encouragement to a child! Feel free to contact us if you need anything!
Please send mail to:
Sunshine Department
Attn: “child name”
115 James J Davis Drive
Mooseheart, IL 60539
Come and Visit Our Campus - Take the Tour
GABRIEL IS ON THE COVER OF THE MOOSE MAGAZINE!!
During Christmas Break Autumn and Gabriel visited the Reseda Lodge and got a few gifts from Santa
California Nevada Moose Association sponsored student Autumn Campbell is inducted into the National Honor Society! Congratulations Autumn, you make us Moose proud!
Surley You Know Some Child That Could Benefit From Mooseheart!
“At each convention and Mid-year, I have given a report that we are not doing our job getting children from CA/NV. It seem the members are listening but nothing changes. They are filling Mooseheart with children from Chicago and Illinois – thank goodness. But we should change that and send more children from our two states. We are working our way down to NONE from here. We have only 2 left at Mooseheart.
Fraternally,
Blackie Veach