Ohop Grange #812 is located in a rural area of Pierce County, surrounded by small farms. We have 145 members, with an average attendance at meetings of 25-30. Prior to becoming an Action Grange we had an average attendance of 20-25 members.

The biggest obstacle we faced when we were chosen as an Action Grange was the resistance to change by some of the long time members. They are gradually accepting our endeavors, but some still have concerns.

For a long time our grange had attempted to find a community service activity that we could become involved in, before finally deciding to start a Grange to School program in our area. As a result of becoming an Action Grange we adopted one of the elementary schools in our District. This school is approximately 25 miles from our hall, and is in a distressed area and has many very needy students. Some of our members volunteer every week to help students with their schoolwork. We have donated a large amount of school supplies, as well as clothing, shoes, winter coats and boots, etc. For the Holidays, we made up bags containing books, crackers, candy, toys, etc. We delivered these to the school and gave one to each of the students.

We also presented a "Teacher of the Year" award to a teacher in our District; gave a scholarship to a graduating senior and gave dictionaries to all 3rd grade students and their teachers. We take monthly donations to our local Family Agency/food bank, and there is a Community Fest held in one of the nearby cities that we have participated in for the last two years. Last year we gave away approximately 250 books to the children who attended.

As you can see, most of our community service has been with the schools and the youth of our community and it has been very rewarding for all who have participated.