Supporting Portsmouth’s Navy Sailors for Memorial Day
To celebrate Memorial Day and honor our service members, LeMay Family Goodworks is partnering with the Portsmouth Elks Veterans Committee to help young enlisted sailors enjoy events at the Bank of NH Pavilion in Gilford, NH!
The Bank of NH Pavilion generously donated over 1,000 tickets to the Elks Lodge’s Project L.I.N.K. (Liberty Investments Nurture Kinships). However, each show requires a bus ride to transport 50 of the Portsmouth submarine crew members. Although the Elks will use some funds from a recent grant they received from the Elks National Foundation for two of the trips, they don’t have enough to fund them all.
So when the Elks approached us for support, we were excited to sponsor two more bus trips this summer—that’s 100 sailors enjoying well-earned Liberty time off base watching their favorite performers!
Now, Project L.I.N.K. will be able to focus on their objective of adding even more no-cost experiences for the U.S. Navy members in an effort to improve their mental health and overall well-being. The initiative comes in the wake of nine Navy sailor suicides over the past year. Read on to learn more about the issue and project below.
About Project L.I.N.K. by the Portsmouth Elks Lodge
The Portsmouth Elks Lodge, which aims to build a stronger community among the Greater Seacoast, established Project L.I.N.K. to organize various free events for active duty sailors who are housed on the U.S. Navy installation in Kittery.
The initiative aims to be the first in a chain of ongoing community relationships with the barracks-housed military at Portsmouth Naval Base, linking local Veterans to the enlisted military. This will involve the forging of strong connections with the base’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programming and personnel to improve the lives of these sailors. Elks members and Pease Greeters will also donate their time and talent to the project.
These events will be available to those serving on the three submarines currently undergoing maintenance: USS Texas, USS Greeneville, and USS Cheyenne. Sailors will enjoy both on and off-base activities, such as:
Tickets to major sporting, music, and theater events
Group transportation to the above off-base venues
Enhanced personal internet for on-base gaming competitions
Charter fishing trip
Bowling, axe-throwing, and paintball events in the community
Community games and meals on base
On-base cooking and budgeting workshops
On-base pet therapy presence
Partnerships with the Veterans organizations at the Elks and through their partner organization, the Pease Greeters
Following COVID restrictions, social distancing, and supply chain issues that extend a docked vessel’s maintenance time well beyond estimated time frames, many young barracks-assigned sailors have been stuck in their rooms. The isolation is now a serious mental health issue nationwide.
With three sailor suicides occurring between December 2022 and January 2023 and another in March, NINE sailors have now tragically died by suicide in little over a year. The mental health of crewmembers has evolved into a Navy crisis at the highest levels.
The Portsmouth Elks Lodge obtained the grant to combat this crisis, working with the MWR and Fleet and Family Services (FFSC) departments on their local base to identify and address needs. Their first priority is to get these young sailors off their electronics, outside their four walls, to enjoy more free time in the community and socializing. The Elks note that these are our youngest enlisted military, typically single or unaffiliated, underage, under-resourced, and lacking personal transportation.
How to Support Project L.I.N.K. & Your Local Navy Members
If you’d like to give back to our service members this Memorial Day, please consider donating to Project L.I.N.K. so they can expand their programs and resources for the young sailors right here in our community! Every amount helps make an impact on their mental health, enabling them to get outside and enjoy fun activities with friends.
To learn how to get involved and donate, please email elkslink@comcast.net today. The Portsmouth Elks and our local service members will be grateful for your support, which will help them enjoy even more shows and other events this summer.
Today and every day, we remember and honor all the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our country.