MIDDLEBORO — The Middleboro Elks lodge has given $29,500 in scholarships to area students over the last year, according to Middleboro Elks president Laura Smith O’Connor. 

These scholarships go toward four-year-colleges as well as vocational schools. 

The Middleboro Elks is one of the over 2,200 Elks Lodges throughout the country. The National Elks Foundation is the largest provider of scholarships and funding for veterans except for the federal government in the country, said Smith O’Connor. 

The Middleboro Lodge recently received a certificate of appreciation from the Brockton VA Medical center for all the support it provides to the healthcare facility, according to Smith O’Connor. 

The local lodge was also the only non-veteran organization invited to participate in the Veterans Day Ceremony at Bourne National Ceremony on Nov.10. 

Smith O’Connor said she is very “proud of our lodge.”