"Thanksgiving Day began early for us, we awoke early to make sure we were on time for our Volunteer commitment to The Second Harvest Food Bank. What a day to walk in a parade, it was just beautiful out! By arriving early we were able to mingle with folks at Second Harvest and watch all the other participants before our time to walk. Both sides of the road were packed and we were enjoying ourselves so much that we couldn't stop smiling and waving even if we wanted to. Avery, Joseph and Alex had smiles bigger than I have ever seen before. Avery especially, she smiled and waved to everyone as we pulled her with our wagon filled with our donated canned goods. Our family had a fantastic experience from walking in the Carolina Carousel Parade.We will make this a family event each year for now on. To us, there is no better way to spend your Thanksgiving holiday. On top of all the fun we were volunteering!
Friday came and again we were up early this time preparing and cooking for our homeless friends. We cooked a turkey along with all the fixings and brought everything to the studio along with our team of helpers that day. They included my family Joseph, Alex, Avery, Jessica and I. Also helping were my Sister Mary and her son Ryan along with his girlfriend Brianna. We also had Jonathan Dey and Erin Day to round out our volunteer’s.
Upon arriving at the studio we set up a staging area for the food and the gift bags we planned to distribute. Our initial plan was to invite those in need to eat at the studio and found we are on the wrong side of the city, most homeless locate themselves by the shelters. My sister Mary took Ryan and drove around looking for folks we could help and came across a shelter that was closed for the holiday. We packed up and drove to the shelter, parked the car, opened the trunk and they came to us asking for anything we had. All 25 lunches and 25 goody bags were given away! We distributed everything we had purchased from hand warmers to socks, shavers and much more.
Many lessons were learned this weekend and there are already plans in place to donate our time and efforts again in December. We came across some really nice people who were very thankful for our efforts. What an experience for all of us to be able to help in a way where we can look someone in the eye and shake their hands and know we are making a difference on that day. This weekend left us wishing we could make a difference like that every day."
For more information on Second Harvest, click here.
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