Dear Editor,

In a world so often surrounded by sadness I wanted to share a very wonderful event that the Warrenton Elks Lodge hosted. Every year we deliver and serve dinner to anyone that calls ahead or comes by on Christmas day. 

As you can imagine this year the need was greater than anything we have experienced in the past. Our volunteers delivered over 200 meals to Warrenton and other surrounding communities. Curbside pickup was also offered in which over 50 dinners were handed out the door. One of the mottos that the Elks organization goes by is “Elks Care Elks Share.” 

I was unlocking our doors at 6:30 a.m. for the cooks to come in Christmas morning. The food was prepared and then deliveries started at 10 a.m. We had such a great response from our members that the food was all handed out in a couple of hours. They went to over 80 homes in that amount of time.

Each of us have stories to tell of this event. Here is my favorite. I had a gentleman call and request a dinner for an elderly lady. He knew that she was going to be home alone on Christmas day. The man stopped by the lodge and donated $40 for one plate. That is a lesson that we can all learn from. Loving one another is so much better than living in a world of anger and animosity.

I want to ask this of the community that I have lived in all of my life. Let’s all take the New Year and try to be good neighbors. A.R.K- Acts of Random Kindness. If we all adopt this for 2021, I guarantee that we will all find peace within ourselves.