WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — For millions around the country, Thanksgiving is a night spent with friends and family. While many of us have food on the table, community groups are helping prepare and deliver meals to those who may not.
Hope Ministries is provided and delivered 3,500 homecooked meals to families in need. It all happened thanks to two-hundred volunteers.
Volunteer Diane Preston said she believes every day is a good day to volunteer,
"I think it's important to volunteer anytime, but especially on the holidays. I just like to remember what I have this is just a great opportunity to do so today," Preston told Local 5's Laryssa Leone.
For volunteer Sarah Ferree, giving back is a way to help her family overcome a recent loss.
"My family and I... we lost our youngest son Colton in 2020," Ferree said. "And we wanted a new way to start a Thanksgiving tradition that would honor him and find a way to shine his light."
With the difficult year many families have had, Ferree acknowledged how hard it can be to feel thankful,
"When you lose somebody, it's a little bit harder to be thankful. And this way, it just reminds us that we still have so much to be thankful for."
Hope Ministries has been serving the community since 1988. According to Director Kathy Coady, they have no plans on quitting cold turkey,
"So we've been doing this for decades now. it's really an important part of our community outreach, and we hope to do it indefinitely," Coady said. "We hope to do it for years to come as long as people need meals and hope. We want to be part of that."
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