DOWAGIAC — To align with its mission of helping community youth, the local Elks Lodge will host an annual dinner this week.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, attendees will feast on a wild game dinner at the Elks Lodge-889’s annual Wild Game Dinner and Auction at the Elks Lodge, 300 Riverside Dr., Dowagiac. A cash bar will open at 5 p.m., with a live auction following the meal at 7 p.m. Items in the auction were donated by local Dowagiac businesses and Elk members. Admission for the event is $10.

Susie Gendron, the inner guard with the Elks, said the annual event has been going on for many years, although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact year it started.

“It is an annual thing,” she said. “It is always the last Tuesday in February. We have a volunteer crew come in and cook up venison. We have wild boar, fish, turkey, geese and a variety of different things for people to try and eat.”

Gendron also said it is important for the Elks to supply the wild game from local sources. She added it is a good chance for people to try some wild game that they may have never had the opportunity to eat before.

Behind the scenes, Gendron said about 12 volunteers from the Elks Lodge are involved in the actual cooking of the food. The Elks Lodge also hires a professional auctioneer for the auction portion of the evening.

“Without the community, we would not be able to put this on,” Gendron said of the generosity and support the Elks Lodge receives from the local community when donating auction items.

She said some businesses in the area have been donating items since the event’s beginnings and have consistently supported the Elks’ mission.

As an Elks Lodge, Gendron said the Elks concentrate on giving back to the youth activities, exceptional citizens and veterans.

“We help support youth organizations like our Rocket Football, soccer, Little League Baseball and any of the other local organizations that we can help,” she said.

Annually, Gendron said the event attracts a good-sized turnout from the local community.

“Usually, we see more men than women, but everyone is invited, and the events are always open to the public,” she said.

Gendron said the overall mission of the Elks Lodge-889 Wild Game and Auction Dinner is to help raise money for the future generations of the community.

“It’s a fundraiser for our local community to give back,” she said. “People really seem to have a good time.”

In another fundraiser, the Elks Lodge is accepting musical instrument donations to be taken to the Battle Creek Veteran’s Hospital, to be used in the hospital’s musical therapy program which offers ensembles, lessons, stress management lessons, recordings and yoga.