Danville Elks Lodge revitalizes as civic club memberships decline

DANVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) - Trustees at the Danville Elks Lodge are working to clean and clear out the historic building in hopes of drawing new members as participation in civic organizations declines.

Trustees clean out historic building

The Elks Lodge has stood on Main Street since 1912. It once drew many members for meetings and served as a place to eat and sleep, but that activity has since stopped.

Robert Bragg, a trustee at the lodge, said the building has the potential to attract new members.

“It’s palpable,” Bragg said. “There is an actual vitality here that makes people want to jump on board and become part of it.”

Jim Ray, also a trustee, has been a member of the lodge for 20 years. He said activity has slowly drifted away.

“I’ve seen a lot of our membership die off,” Ray said. “And people just become disinterested in what’s going on here. And our membership in the past hasn’t done anything to perpetuate newer members to join.”

Other civic clubs face similar decline

The Danville Kiwanis Club is also working to bring in new members. Jay Hayes was president of the club in 1989, when it had more than 160 members. He said that number has dwindled to less than half.

“You joined a church, you joined a civic organization, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, and in those two ways, you integrated into the community,” Hayes said. “Now there are so many other ways to integrate into the community that you don’t... these people don’t feel a need to join the civic clubs.”

Hayes said technology and social media have played a part in the decline, with many people choosing online giving instead of hands-on volunteering.

Trustees hope to draw new members

Bragg and Ray said they want the Elks Lodge space to host more social gatherings.

“This building is not a building without people in it,” Ray said.