Volunteers reach out to hungry

Shelters organize helpers to serve up thousands of meals

Little Rock Police Department recruit-school cadets help hundreds of other volunteers at the Watershed Family Resource Center cook, package and deliver more than 5,000 free Thanksgiving Day meals for shelters, public housing, senior-citizen homes and other organizations in need.
Little Rock Police Department recruit-school cadets help hundreds of other volunteers at the Watershed Family Resource Center cook, package and deliver more than 5,000 free Thanksgiving Day meals for shelters, public housing, senior-citizen homes and other organizations in need.

Having volunteered at the Watershed Family Resource Center every Thanksgiving since 1997, Glenda Wilson knew how to handle the chaos.

RELATED ARTICLE

http://www.arkansas…">Nation takes day to give thanks

photo

Sherri Crossett (front, left) of Searcy fills the plate of Jimmy Enlow of Little Rock at the Watershed Family Resource Center on Thursday. The center provided free Thanksgiving Day meals.

Wilson of Fairfax, Va., was one of about 550 volunteers working in the small space at Watershed on Thanksgiving morning. They packed food into plastic boxes, stacked them up and handed them over to either delivery drivers or those who would take them home for their holiday meal.

As people darted around her, Wilson helped coordinate volunteers to get together one of the largest orders of the day -- 300 dinners and desserts for Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church in Little Rock.

"A lot of people would go without if the volunteers didn't show up," Wilson said while looking over a paper list of the hundreds of deliveries scheduled for the day.

The Little Rock native came to Watershed for the first time the year her dad died. It was her first holiday without him, and she wanted to do something besides "sitting and eating."

"It just gives you such a sense of well-being when you leave knowing that you've helped somebody else," Wilson said. "It makes you thankful for the little bit that you have."

The Rev. Hezekiah Stewart, Watershed's executive director, said the organization was planning to prepare about 5,000 meals Thursday. All of the food, including 500 turkeys, was donated, Stewart said.

In the 36 years Stewart has had the event at Watershed, this was the first time that he could "sit back and enjoy it," he said, adding that staff members, such as Dewonna Reeves, took on the brunt of the work.

Reeves had the large task of distributing the 500 turkeys this week to those willing to cook them. She was at Watershed until about 10 p.m. Wednesday, roasting the last six.

Meals prepared by the volunteers went to churches, shelters, individuals and families as far as Saline and Lonoke counties, she said.

"It's heartwarming in the midst of all the trials and tribulations we see -- the unrest and everything else going on around the world -- that on a day like today our minds and hearts are just filled with gratitude," Stewart said. "People of all ages and races are out here to reach out to help somebody else. This is the kind of thing I wish that we could see all over the world. I know it may not be possible, but we sure can hope for it."

Earlier Thursday, Gov. Mike Beebe expressed similar sentiments at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's morning service in Little Rock.

In front of a couple hundred congregants, Beebe talked about the power of gratitude in a "cynical" society.

"For every hateful pronouncement or wave of fear we see in our world, we see people reaching out to each other in times of need and in times of distress. That's where we need to focus our energies," Beebe said. "I hope you share the power of gratitude with me not just on this holiday, but throughout the year and throughout our lives."

Hours later, during the lunchtime rush at the Little Rock Compassion Center, the Rev. William Holloway outlined the center's mission: providing three meals a day, 365 days a year, to those who need them.

Thanksgiving and the days following are the busiest mealtimes, he said, predicting the center would serve about 4,000 meals throughout the holiday weekend.

The line for food stretched about 50 people long just after noon Thursday, and about a dozen tables -- decked with autumn-themed tablecloths and place mats -- were filled with people digging into turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cake.

"A lot of the people here are homeless, and many of them don't have families" said Holloway, the center's director. "There's more people who commit suicide on Thanksgiving and Christmas than any other holiday, so it's important that people come in here and be with other people, to have fellowship and just be around people who love them."

At Watershed, most of the work was done by about 11:30 a.m., and volunteers started to clear out. Before leaving, a group of boys who had helped to stack boxes of meals took a group photo, smiling and giving thumbs-up.

"For the time they're here, they're forgetting about themselves, their problems, their concerns and their energy is directed toward somebody else. They're enjoying it," Stewart said, pointing to the boys. "There's enough smiles in this place today to eliminate all the frowns in the world."

Metro on 11/28/2014

Upcoming Events