Arthur Ewersmann Arthur Ewersmann was our final scholarship recipient. Arthur has been with ELK since nearly the very beginning. Long before anyone knew who we were or what ELK was about, Arthur was there. During a time when volunteer opportunities were limited and gathering people together was challenging due to COVID-19, Arthur faithfully showed up and served. Over the years, Arthur has volunteered more hours than any other student in our organization’s history. In fact, t

Dakota Lopez Daota was ELK's first scholarship recipient. Dakota recently graduated from Cabarrus-Kannapolis Early College High School with an impressive 4.6 weighted GPA. During her time there, she served on the school’s National Honor Society’s board, was an active member of the Beta Club, and competed at the FBLA Collegiate National Leadership Conference. This fall, Dakota will attend UNC Greensboro, where she plans to major in finance and pursue a career as a financial ad

LeNay Turnage LeNay has distinguished herself through her genuine passion for community service. Rather than serving simply to fulfill a requirement, she actively seeks opportunities that have purpose and impact, consistently going above and beyond what is expected. When others contribute an hour or two, she is the type of volunteer that shows up before the event starts and stays until the very conclusion. Her dedication reflects a servant’s heart, and a sincere desire to mak

Gavin Murfitt Gavin was our first honorable mention recipient. Gavin recently graduated summa cum laude and leads behind an impressive record of academic achievement and leadership. He was a member of the National Honor Society, Beta Club, and Student Council. He also served a Senior Vice President and was an active member of the Kannapolis Youth Council. This fall, Gavin will attend Wingate University where he plans to pursue a degree in chemistry. Gavin began volunteering

City Leaders with ELK Scholarship and Award Recipients Mayor Doug Wilson along side City Council Members Diane Berry and Naomi Hatchell and City Manager Wilmer Melton join ELK Scholarship and Award Receipients.

Cleaning our adopted street, West 8th. We had a great turn out considering school is already on summer break. ELK volunteers cleaned our adopted street, West 8th. ELk takes July and August off but we will be back at it in September.

Concord Lake STEAM Academy hosted another successful event. Thank you Concord Lake STEAM Academy for hosting another successful event. We enjoyed seeing many familiar faces and some new ones. Special thanks to Officer Stevens whose presence drastically improved traffic speed which allowed volunteers to work safely. Elk is able to help keep Kannapolis clean because of all the volunteers and community support. Thank you all!

We had such a great turnout and dedicated volunteers this cleanup that we broke our distance record for China Grove Rd! Thank you to Charity Baptist Church for hosting the event!

To kick off our 2026 litter clean up season, we had some awesome new volunteers, the protection of officer Jason Hinson, and found big ticket items like a mattress.

Thank you to Charity Baptist Church for hosting this event. Volunteers picked up all sorts of litter, including a recliner that Rob Bliven is happily relaxing in after a productive but tiring day of litter cleanup.

Big! Big! Big! We had a big turnout and found some big ticket items like an IPad, car bumper, and a traffic cone!

Novant Health Hosptial in Salisbury NC Many know that Novant Health services communities by improving healthcare access through mobile...

It was great getting back out there after our summer break. When it comes to cleaning the streets, nothing beats teamwork and collaboration!

ELK's first Salisbury event hosted by Promise City Church. Volunteers gathered 109 pounds of litter!

It was hot but we managed to remove 4 bags of litter and some large items from our adopted street (West 8th st. Kannapolis).

Thor - ELK's mascot The Lopez family regularly volunteers for ELK. Their friendly beagle, Thor, has become our mascot. Here Thor is...

Concord Lake STEAM Academy hosted the May 24th event, and Mayor Hinnant came to thank volunteers for their efforts. Thank you, Mayor...

The May 24th, 2025 event was especially eventful. Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant came to thank ELK volunteers for their impact on the...

Johnny is a regular ELK volunteer who displays leadership by inviting friends and family members to join his volunteerism. He also once...

Jennine is a hard-working volunteer who is becoming a regular contributor to ELK's efforts. This past Saturday she not only volunteered...