FORKS — An Elks Lodge pork rib cook-off at noon Saturday will raise funds to get physical and occupational therapy for children who need it but can’t afford it.
The “Cookin’ for the Cause” cook-off will be open to the public at the Forks Elks Lodge, 941 Merchant Road.
The winner-takes-all cook-off will feature a Traeger Bronson grill for the best pork ribs along with first-place bragging rights.
Judging will take place at 3 p.m. and ribs will be served at 4 p.m. for $10 a plate.
Recreational vehicle parking spots and camping locations are available at the lodge.
For information about the contest, call 360-374-2524.
The cook-off will benefit the Washington Elks Therapy Program for children, which has provided home-based occupational or physical therapy to children with developmental delays or physical disabilities since 1954.
Services are provided at no cost to the children and their families.
Any child in Washington with a prescription for occupational or physical therapy treatment is eligible. Families must live within reach of the program’s therapy team, and only children with the most critical needs are accepted, according to the Tall Elks website.
Preference is given to infants and young children who would otherwise go without services due to a family’s lack of financial resources, or to children who will experience deterioration in their status without therapy.
The program does not require affiliation or membership with the Elks, its members or lodges.
Occupational therapist Becky Gibson supervises up to 13 occupational and physical therapists in the program, according to the website. Gibson has been with the Elks Therapy Program for 14 years.
The Tall Elks program reports that the current caseload averages 25 children in each of its 16 units or districts across Washington.
For information about the program, go to www. tallelks.org.
