MOOSEHEART, IL - Angela Waldeck loved the look of the Bull Moose Chopper so much that she had to buy a pair of raffle tickets - and she doesn't even know how to ride a motorcycle.

Waldeck now has the perfect opportunity to learn to ride - and a motorcycle to ride when she's done. Waldeck, of Morganton, NC Chapter 1382 was the winner of the Moose fraternity-wide raffle on Monday (Aug. 9), a drawing sponsored by the fraternity's Fraternal Programs department and a drawing that took place at Mooseheart.

Waldeck made her decision to enter the raffle after her parents, Don and Judy Jones, returned from the International Convention in Las Vegas in June.

"My dad had come back and he said he had seen it," Waldeck. "He said pictures didn't do it justice. He said seeing it in person was unbelievable. I went online and ordered two tickets and I didn't tell anybody that I got them."

Waldeck kept that secret from everyone, including her husband, Russell Waldeck of Morganton Lodge 193 until Monday.

"I am excited," Angela Waldeck said. "I can't wait to see it. I don't ride a motorcycle, but my husband does. I am going to learn very quickly."

Waldeck said she plans to come to Mooseheart for the Oct. 4 Homecoming festivities to pick up the motorcycle. That day is also North Carolina Day at Mooseheart and many members of the state association will be in attendance.

"My daughters want us to leave tonight and come up but I told them we have to wait," Waldeck said.

The Moose Chopper was built from scratch Feb. 8-10 by a four-woman team of builders who were gathered by Gina Woods, whose Open Road Radio program has been a supporter of the children at Mooseheart since the 2007 Mooseheart Blessing of the Bikes.

"This was a thing that the Moose Riders had wanted to do for the last couple of years," Assistant Director of Fraternal Programs Chris Ecker said. "They said 'Gee, wouldn't it be great to get a chopper built and raffle it off for the kids.' This year, (Woods) didn't have a charity or an effort to do a bike for. So I asked what it would take to make a Moose bike."

Once it was built, the Chopper went on a tour of Illinois as well as to Florida for Daytona Bike Week. It ended its run at the International Convention, where Waldeck's parents saw it. Over the course of its half-year in existence, the Bull Moose Chopper has raised $14,271, which will be donated to Moose Charities for use at Mooseheart Child City & School.

"To me the neatest part was that we were able to take it and combine two aspects of our program," Director of Fraternal Programs Shawn Baile said. "Moose Riders is part of Family Activities, and we were able to promote this. And every dime we raised went to Mooseheart. We were able to promote one effort and support the other. It goes to show that not everything has to be exclusive. It can be a win for both and that's what you have in this case."

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.3 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, religious and vocational training, and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 250 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.