On Wednesday, Feb. 16, members from the Lake Oconee Elks Lodge donated 170 sweatshirts to the Veterans at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville.  

The veterans are chilly all year long and the sweatshirts should help keep them warm and let them know we are thinking of them even when we cannot be with them. The Lodge has received the Impact Grant from the Grand Lodge for the past four years and just received notification that it will be renewed again for the fifth year. 

Before the pandemic hit, lodge members had been treating the veterans to outings at restaurants and museums, but the home has been in lockdown for the past couple of years and members have had to be creative in finding ways to make the Veterans feel special.  

The home has finally opened up a bit and lodge members have recently been allowed to take meals into the home.  In the past few months members have been able to give them a pizza & donut party, a bar-be-que luncheon and a Chick-fil-A luncheon.  

Hopefully, the veterans will soon be able to leave the premises once again and lodge members can start treating them to lunch and museum outings once again.

Also on Wednesday, Feb. 16, one of Lake Oconee members, Brad Hatch, donated a van and very special needs wheelchair to the veterans at the home. Hatch and his dad Bob were on hand to turn over the keys to Director Dennis Mize and Russell Feagin with the veterans home.  

The van and wheelchair were much-needed and appreciated.  

Thanks for this fantastic donation to such a worthy cause.