Elks deliver holiday gifts for Stockley Center residents

Cheerful elves from Cape Henlopen Elks Lodge 2540 visited the Stockley Center bearing gifts Dec. 21. 

The Stockley Center in Georgetown is a Medicaid-certified care facility for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The 50-bed facility provides both intermediate and skilled nursing care for people requiring a variety of complex supports and medical needs.

Inside the Elks Lodge, an angel tree was decorated with white and gold ornaments along with 41 angel tags. Each tag included the age, gender and three-gift wish list of a center resident. In addition, there were 17 special angel tags with just one request each, for an MP3 player so center residents could listen to audiobooks and music.  Elks members were encouraged to take down an angel tag, buy and wrap the gifts requested, and fulfill the wishes of one of those less fortunate. Every wish was fulfilled, and all 17 MP3 players, with cases, were collected from Santa at the lodge. Dressed in holiday garb, Santa's helpers, Exalted Ruler Joanne Mayer, Loyal Knight Buddy Hall-McBride, Barbara Gilsenan and Kathy Gillin, delivered all the gifts to the Stockley residents during their holiday party.

In a special moment, Gilsenan read “The Night Before Christmas” to a group of residents, and suddenly, as in the poem, “not a creature was stirring,” as the magic took over and all were mesmerized. Afterward, as Christmas carols were played throughout the great room, the smiles on the faces could not be contained, reminding all that music indeed is a universal language for everyone to enjoy.