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Daughters of the American Revolution seeking food-drive donations

Service group organizes Elbert County chapter

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A group of women working to establish a Daughters of the American Revolution chapter in Elbert County will hold a food drive in Elizabeth later this month.
 
The group wants people to donate new personal hygiene items and canned and boxed foods during their inaugural event at American Legion Post 82, 228 Banner St. in Elizabeth, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 25.
 
“There’s a lot of need in the region,” said Gayle Gardner, of Parker, the organizing regent of the new DAR group, dubbed the Running Creek Chapter.
 
Gardner said the food drive is the first act of service by the nonprofit volunteer women’s service organization in the community. It will benefit the Help and Hope Center, a Castle Rock-based pantry that helps people in Elbert and Douglas counties who are in crisis, including at risk of becoming homeless.
 
The drive is also part of a wider celebration of the creation of the DAR chapter. Joe Martell, president of the Elbert County Historical Society & Museum, is expected to talk at the March 25 event about preservation issues, and chapter officers and new members will be inducted, Gardner said.
 
Running Creek would become Colorado’s 48th DAR chapter. Most chapters in the state are concentrated in cities and along the Front Range. The Running Creek Chapter is expected to have 19 initial members, some of them transfers from metro-area chapters they had to travel to in order to participate in DAR events.
 
“Since we’re starting so small, we’re going to have to get together after we’re organized and do some chapter planning,” Gardner said.
 
Possible plans for the chapter include working with Wreaths Across America, an organization that has a mission to “Remember, Honor and Teach” about veterans. Every December, the organization coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and veterans’ cemeteries around the country.
 
“Elizabeth has a veterans’ cemetery,” Gardner said. “So, maybe we can bring that program into Elbert County. Remembering our veterans is important.”
 
Another likely focus of the organization is historic preservation.
 
“I feel like Elbert County is a little bit of an untapped area with that,” Gardner said.
 
Historic preservation is one of three priorities of DAR since its founding in 1890. DAR’s other priorities are education and patriotism.
 
“I know people tend to think of us as more conservative, but we’re non-political,” Gardner said.
 
The group is open to women with a variety of interests from diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, religion and other factors, she added. The only caveat is that each member be able to trace their lineal descent to patriots of the American Revolution.
 
Some women might be surprised to find they have a connection, Gardner said.
 
“One of the more interesting parts is researching history and genealogy,” she added.
 
Some women have found unexpected connections to the American Revolution. For instance, she recalled women who had connections to shopkeepers that helped the Continental Army and workers who helped build the roads the army relied on.
Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR, food drive, Elbert County, Colorado

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