Broken Arrow Elks Lodge Donates Gifts To Children Of Service Members

Kids with a parent serving our country are getting an extra Christmas surprise.

On Friday, the Broken Arrow Elks Lodge handed over hundreds of gifts to the National Guard for 273 kids.

The Chairman of the veteran's group at the Elks Lodge in Broken Arrow, Norman Tennison, is a veteran himself and said that giving gifts to kids of deployed veterans is the least they can do.

"All I get as the Chairman is the gender and the age and that's all we have to gone on, so we just buy the toys for the age group," Tennison said.

That's where the Oklahoma Air National Guard members in Tulsa and at the Sand Springs Armory come in. Friday, they picked up the gifts and will eventually deliver them to the kids around Oklahoma.

"Our family organization keeps in touch with the families back home while they are deployed,” Air National Guard Chief Master Sergeant Dennis Dipiazzo said.

Dipiazzo said the goal is to have the gifts delivered by Christmas Day. Dipiazzo said they normally receive donations for the holidays, but this donation of $6,000 worth of gifts is one of the biggest they've ever received.

Tennison said there's always something you can do to show appreciation to service members.

"If you see a Veteran on the street, shake him or her hand and tell them you appreciate what they do,” Tennison said.

To find out how you can help the Elks Lodge do more for the community click here.