Atascadero Elks Lodge

In 1950, the California-Hawaii Elks Association (CHEA) created an organization within it to help children with disabilities. This organization was titled the California-Hawaii Elks Major Project, Inc. (CHEMPI). The fundraising arm of CHEMPI is the Purple Pig.

This unique program funds 32 paid therapists and preschool vision screeners, hired by CHEMPI, to help disabled children when no other organizations can or will. These CHEMPI professional therapists and preschool vision screeners travel, sometimes great distances, to help children get care they need.

Further, many times the children will have tests, e.g. Vision Screening, that catches early signs of amblyopia (“Lazy Eye”), a medical problem that, once caught, can be corrected early on and save a child from going blind, quite literally.

The California-Hawaii Elks have raised over $100.6 MILLION since 1950 to address the unmet needs of children with disabilities by developing a program of supporting services to aid these children at no cost to their families.

Watch the heart-felt video (ABOVE) about the Purple Pig program from its inception in 1950–and see how inspiring and powerful the program is working in action.

California-Hawaii State Project: Therapy Services for Children