Perhaps
the most prominent point of the "Six-Point Program
of Community Service is the Moose Youth Awareness
program, in which hundreds of bright, enthusiastic
teenagers are recruited each year and then guided
to create and deliver their own distinctive "KidsTalk"
presentations to help younger children make positive,
healthy choices in life. The teenagers present these
"KidsTalks" to groups ranging from ages
four to nine. Every year, Moose “KidsTalk”
reaches up to 100,000 youngsters across the U.S. and
Canada. Dedicated to the betterment of humanity, the
Moose fraternity has also actively supported national
health endowments throughout its history. These have
included the Kidney Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy,
American Heart Association, American Cancer Society,
Cerebral Palsy, Arthritis Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation,
and the Alzheimer's Association.
Special
emphasis is placed on Community Service activities
for youth. The Moose is an active participant in youth
Special Olympics, as well as youth baseball, softball,
basketball, hockey and soccer.
Hundreds
of Lodges are charter sponsors in local Boy and Girl
Scouting groups. The key to the success of any Scouting
troop is leadership. Moose members are active leaders
in local Scouting programs, building the future leaders
of your community. Moose sponsorship of Scouting includes
Lodges that are chartered partners with a Boy Scout
unit or provides financial support for Boy and Girl
Scout units. It also provides for Lodge donations
of $50 or more in a fiscal quarter to the Scouting
programs a Mooseheart.
Youths
are also served by the Moose fraternity’s complete
financial underwriting of the Youth Conservation Corps
program at Yellowstone National Park. Every summer,
YCC gives selected youths from all over the continent
(including at least four from Mooseheart and three
more from Moose families) an unforgettable eight-week
work/learn/earn opportunity in the vast beauty of
America’s premier national park. Other Moose-sponsored
projects include "Adopt-A-Highway," "Meals
on Wheels," and feeding the homeless, and sometimes,
housing them temporarily in the wake of natural disasters
or other emergencies. . Years ago, Moose "Youth
Honor Day" played an important role in reducing
vandalism on Halloween night. "Operation Santa
Claus," in which Lodges collect toys and distribute
them to needy children, has been responsible for providing
thousands of children with gifts at Christmas. Additionally,
most Lodges sponsor more locally-tailored projects
designed to fit the needs of the area in which it
is located.
