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Gang Free delivers biscuits to first responders

The Daily Dispatch - 5/1/2020

Apr. 30--HENDERSON -- COVID-19 remains a focal point of daily life in Vance County, but several residents have taken initiatives to actively help those on the front lines combating the spread of the virus.

Gang Free Inc. contributed to those efforts Wednesday morning by descending onto the new Biscuitville off Dabney Driver to deliver nearly 300 biscuits to essential workers across Vance County.

"We're delivering biscuits to the first responders and everyone that's currently on the front lines," Gang Free founder Melissa Elliott said. "Eighty are going to the hospital, 30 to the [Police Department], 30 to the jail, 30 to [Child Protective Services] because they have an overwhelming caseload of child abuse and neglect. We're also delivering some to 911."'

Over the past five years, Elliott has strived to deter crime in Vance County by reaching out to at-risk youth as well as ex-offenders looking to transition back into the community and encouraging them to participate in services and programs provided by Gang Free.

Gang Free has partnered with local schools and the Henderson Police Department to organize after-school programs, but its services have also extended to homeless shelters and community projects such as the beautification of parks.

With schools and other businesses in Vance County being closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Elliott has remained focused on helping the community during the past month, which has mainly involved providing food to those in need.

"My organization has been giving out food ever since we started," Elliott said. "We've probably given out 1,000 boxes over the last 30 days, and we also do children's meals every day from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. We also have a homeless shelter to house people during COVID-19. We just want to be a blessing."

Elliott continued her mission alongside her co-worker Jennique Lopez and a couple of Henderson City Council members at the local Biscuitville, which formally expanded into Vance County on Feb. 20 with the grand opening of its location at Dabney Drive.

To celebrate the occasion, the Vance County Biscuitville held a contest in which a resident could win a prize by spinning a wheel. Elliott managed to get a lucky spin and won the opportunity to deliver 300 biscuits to the community that was used to help first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local Biscuitville operator Tracy Meadows believes that Elliott's vision aligns perfectly with the values shared by everyone within the company, and is looking forward to helping out Henderson in many other ways long after the pandemic concludes.

"I know [Biscuitville] has a lot on their calendar in regards to donations to their communities, because that's something they've been doing since 1966," Meadows said. "It's part of our culture and values to enhance lives by serving others. We live by that every day and I absolutely love it."

Delivering biscuits was only one part of an extremely busy Wednesday afternoon for Elliott, as she helped distribute more food to Henderson residents after a truck carrying thousands of pounds of produce arrived in the city at 1 p.m.

Elliott intends to keep assisting Henderson with similar projects over the next few weeks and added that the best way for the community to quickly overcome the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 is for everyone to come together and stay positive through the uncertain times.

"We believe in community," Elliott said. "We want people to be encouraged during the pandemic, but we also want people who are the frontlines to know that we care and that we are with them. If we can't be there in person, then we are with them in spirit and I'm proud that we could bless some of them today by giving them breakfast."

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