Moose International consists of the Loyal Order of Moose, a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888, and the Women of the Moose, founded in 1913. Combined, there are more than 1,000,000 members in approximately 1600 lodges and 1400 chapters in 49 states, four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain and Bermuda.
The major focus for Moose International is to support the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a 1,000-acre community for children and teens in need, located 40 miles west of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community for members, located near Jacksonville, FL.
Lodges and Chapters across the Fraternity are known for creating life-long bonds between members through activities and a shared concern for children in need, seniors and the communities in which they live. Members of the Moose conduct approximately $70 million worth of community service (counting monetary donations and volunteer hours worked) annually.
Moose International Initiatives
Tommy Moose
The Tommy Moose® program is easily one of the most successful Community Service outreach programs in the history of the Loyal Order of Moose.
The Tommy dolls are given to children who have been encountered during stressful or traumatic situations, calming them, and giving them a soothing object to refocus their attention toward, while emergency aid takes place.
Special Olympics
From 2008 to 2017, Moose International was the presenting sponsor for the Special Olympics annual North America Softball Championship. In 2016, the Roanoke Moose Family Center was proud to have this event take place in our own backyard with events held at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem and the Botetourt Sports Complex.
In support of this occasion, Roanoke Moose Family Center 284 had the privilege of hosting an intimate pre-event dinner for umpires and distinguished guests as well as the post-event banquet for more than 700 people.
Safe Surfin’ Foundation
The Moose International and Safe Surfin’ Foundation partnership continues to present numerous opportunities for positive publicity as we strive to protect children and sharing this important information to as many communities as possible. Moose members have and continue to sponsor educational programs at their Lodges and have reached out to other civic groups throughout their communities.
Through the support of the Moose International family, we have raised public awareness for the need of Internet safety education, and have promoted the availability of these educational materials to schools, libraries, and law enforcement.
Moose Alert
The Moose Alert Program is designed to use two of the most significant resources we, as an organization, have to offer our communities and fellow citizens; namely the incredible volunteer network that exists within our Lodges and Chapters and the security of the Lodge Homes themselves. Our mission with Moose Alert is for our volunteer force to become a reliable resource in times of emergency and for our Lodge Homes to become useful centers for services and comfort to those in need during catastrophic weather related or man-made events.
Roanoke Moose Family Center 284 is NOT a Moose Alert facility at this time, and there are currently no plans to become such.
Youth Awareness
Each year, local Moose Lodge representatives ask high school officials across North America to recommend two high school students to State/Provincial Association Youth Awareness Congresses, which are held in October and November each year, where participants focus on creating Moose KidsTalks, which are presentations to be given to 4 to 9 year-old children in their communities. The ideas for the students’ KidsTalks are all their own. They develop ways to empower children to make healthy choices or to resist danger, and they go home determined to put them into practice.
Moose Partnerships
In addition to the major initiatives listed above, Moose International is privileged to partner with:
