A three-legged stool forms the foundation of the modern Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR); one leg represents the organization’s dedication to historic preservation, one leg supports education, and the third is devoted to patriotism in all its varied forms and manifestations. The national DAR Service for Veterans Committee is one of the principal groups dedicated to patriotism. The activities of this committee are as wide and varied as one’s imagination can wander — anything that supports the brave patriots who strive to protect freedoms and democracy is fair game.

The ladies who serve on the DAR Service for Veterans Committee (DARSFV) in the Judith Randolph-Longwood Chapter, headed by the indomitable Anne Wilkins, assisted by the indefatigable members Jenny Bobko and Donna Ennis, as well as by many members of the chapter, have just completed a remarkable effort on behalf of wounded veterans at McGuire Veterans’ Hospital, Lynchburg Community Based Outpatient Clinic, and Salem Veterans’ Hospital. It is a tale worth telling.

One of the activities sponsored by the Judith Randolph-Longwood DARSFV is designed to bring a little cheer to wounded service members at Christmastime. The project is a simple act — writing messages on Christmas cards, thanking veterans for their service to our country and especially for the sacrifices they have made in the process. All members of the chapter are invited to participate. The cards, as well as donated books and magazines, are then distributed to the three medical facilities by Sarah Maddox, the CEO of the Farmville-based Piedmont Area Veterans Council, in time to be put on breakfast, lunch and supper trays for the patients.

In 2018 chapter members wrote 306 cards; on the basis of this feat the ladies were challenged to write 500 cards this year. All during the weeks of November, up until Dec. 1, cards poured into the committee members, giving the assurance that the challenge goal would be met. At the final tally, chapter members had written a total of 1,001 Christmas cards for wounded service members! Never before in the long history of this project had such a result been achieved.