'Christian Services' Provides Free Thanksgiving Meal to 2,000
Hundreds of people filled the dining room of “Christian Services” as the organization offered a full thanksgiving meals Tuesday in Hattiesburg, MS.
Around 300 volunteers served people with a special meal of dressing, green beans, rolls and turkey in a great way to give back to the community.
“We normally serve somewhere around 1,800. I expect that it will be close to that today. We are prepared for 2,000 cause we don’t want anybody to go away hungry,” said Cookie Prout, Christian Services co-founder.
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People from a wide range of backgrounds attend the dinner offered every Thanksgiving, according to Prout.
“Some of them may have been generationally in their position. Some of them have suddenly been hurled into their position because of the economy,” she said, as reported by WDAM.
Christian Services, which is supported by voluntary contributions, is a multi-faceted ministry through which people come together to help those in need.
In 2010 Christian Services treated more than 2,000 people to a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
According to executive director Bill Prout, the event takes around three months of planning and preparation with the efforts of more than 250 volunteers needed to make the event possible.
The event is hugely successful but the economic situation has caused the center to get creative with its service. In November the center gave away 100 boxes of food to the first 100 who came.
“It’s good to show a different aspect of law enforcement to our citizens… show that we care and that we are indeed mindful of the struggles that they go through, especially now a days. So, we want to let them know that we are not just here for law enforcement related issues, we are for their overall well being,” said Lt. Terrence Bullock.
The center serves more than 150,000 people a year.
