Elks Help Vets Celebrate Christmas

NORTH WILDWOOD – For the fifth year in a row, Elks Lodge 1896 in North Wildwood held a Christmas lunch for veterans Dec. 15.
With the addition of students from the Wildwood High School Choir, the lodge was packed for a festive holiday meal peppered with songs of the season, good cheer, and conversation.
A variety of veterans’ groups were invited to the lunch with the center table populated by veterans from the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Vineland.
The cold, gray day did not dampen the spirits of those in attendance as Elks volunteers served an all-American meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cake.
For those whose tastes ran in a different direction, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and french fries were available.
Circulating through the room, Santa and Mrs. Claus handed out envelopes with a cash gift for each veteran.
The festivities began with the choir leading the room in a rendition of the national anthem.
Grace was offered by Ed Garten, a veteran who is never without his hat identifying him as a Marine. 
Jacqueline Blaydes, veterans representative, from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, joined with those who welcomed the veterans.
Charles Feeney, the lodge master of ceremonies, kept the festivities moving.
Cape May County is home to one of the state’s largest concentration of veterans on a percentage basis. Just about everyone who was not a high school student had served the country at some point. Even the bus driver who brought the choir members to the event was a veteran.
Amid the banter, one could see that service to country was a life-forming experience for the men and women in the room. There was the talk of the need for better veterans’ services in the county and help for those who served and are homeless.
The Elks try to do their part. In addition to social events like the Christmas lunch, a summer cookout or an annual veterans’ trip to the Cape May County Zoo, the Elks are continuously playing an active role in community support for those who served.
This year the lodge stepped up behind the scenes to help a veteran who had been robbed to pay his utility bills. 
When cancer treatment interfered with a veteran’s ability to work, the lodge helped with monthly bills.
In another instance, a homeless veteran living in his car with his service dog was provided with two weeks of lodging by the Elks until he could be placed in more permanent housing. 
Another veteran found help from the lodge was instrumental in stopping his eviction from his home.
The Christmas lunch was a public event, a merry festival, which is symbolic of a strong and continuous commitment to the area’s veterans and the community in general at the Greater Wildwood Elks Lodge, a commitment few but the lodge members see in its full breadth.
As attendees entered the dining area, they passed a Christmas tree that represents so much more than a holiday decoration. The tree was part of another program where the lodge gives back to the community.
At the start of the season, the tree’s branches held cards describing some needy child’s wished-for gift for Christmas. 
The children, selected with input from social agencies, community organizations, and Elks members, are Wildwood residents who otherwise might have a very sparse Christmas.
This year 80 children will receive over 200 gifts because of the generosity and work of lodge members.
Through a complex process that requires organization and effort by the volunteers, children have input into what they most want, and the Elks do their best to ensure that that child gets those gifts.
Another successful event had a message in it for all in attendance. Veterans understood that many recognize the deep debt owed them. Students learned that liberty comes with a price as they conversed with men and women who were not much older than they were when they served.
For Elks Lodge 1896, it was a chance to display the commitment of its members to the area’s veterans.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.