ORANGEVILLE, Pa. — There were a lot of smiles inside Our Orangeville Manor as Christmas came a bit early for the veterans. The personal care home in Orangeville takes in homeless veterans from different VA hospitals. Currently, 34 people live there.
"Get them back on their feet, help meet whatever needs that they have, try and get them into a facility where they can be loved and taken care of," said owner Theresa Hughes.
Recently, members of the Milton VFW, Milton American Legion, and W&L Subaru decided to buy Christmas presents for the residents of Our Orangeville Manor.
"We went in and told the manager there about it, and she took it and went to the Milton Legion, and it kind of blew up a little bit," said Charles Batdorf, a member of the Milton VFW.
The group collected all kinds of goodies for the vets.
"Some Lume body care, shaving cream, some chips, just some basic good stuff," said Navy veteran Jimmy Noone.
"We had a wonderful day today. I thought I got the best gifts you could possibly get. They choose it for you, but they made a good choice," said Daniel Mills, an Army veteran.
Hughes says the community has been good to them.
"It's overwhelming. The staff, we go home at night and just cry. Our residents will tell us. The new guys who come in will say, 'This is the best Christmas I've had since I was a little boy,'" Hughes said.
"It feels really good to do something like that because look what they've done for us," Batdorf added.