43
Community members break bread at Rescue Mission, Salvation Army dinners
Photo
Caitlyn Keck a senior at Jackson Milton high school and from North Jackson - not only served drinks and helped the people but talked with the families to give them that welcome feel - at the Salvation Army Thanksgiving in Youngstown
Community members break bread at Rescue Mission, Salvation Army dinners
YOUNGSTOWN — Decades of Thanksgiving fellowship and dining at two area organizations continue this year, thanks to the community’s charitable efforts.
The Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley on Martin Luther King Boulevard as well as the Salvation Army Youngstown Citadel on Glenwood Avenue have been feeding the hungry at Thanksgiving for years.
At the Rescue Mission, more than 100 turkeys have been prepared, the tables have been set, and dozens of volunteers are available to serve. Area residents came to the facility Wednesday to dine on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce and rolls at no charge.
The meals also will be offered today from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
More than 1,100 guests at the Salvation Army enjoyed a similar meal Wednesday afternoon.
Ron Starcher, Rescue Mission director of client services, said the mission has been offering the free holiday meals for virtually as long as anyone can remember.
“We’ve been doing this forever. Our executive director has been here for 19 years, so we have been doing this for at least that long and likely a lot longer. Thanksgiving is always a big time for us,” he said.
What makes Thanksgiving a “big time” for the mission, Starcher said, is the prominence the holiday has in the lives of those in the community at large. He said the mission serves a diverse group during the holiday season.
“We find that a lot of families do come for the Thanksgiving meal. They come often because it is at the end of the month and they run out of supplies,” he said. “There are also a good number of single and older people who come because they do not have any place else to go.”
Starcher said the mission is prepared to serve between 500 and 600 meals between Wednesday and today.
Capt. Patricia Musgrove, assistant pastor at The Salvation Army, said holiday meals also have been a long-standing tradition with The Salvation Army. The well-known red kettle campaign actually was started, she said, as a means of collecting money to feed the hungry during Thanksgiving.
Musgrove said The Salvation Army also has seen a growing need in the community.
“A lot of people depend on the meal here just to make ends meet,” she said. “Some of the people we see coming in to eat used to be volunteers in the past. The downturn in the economy has affected everyone.”
One fascinating aspect of Thanksgiving meal service at the Rescue Mission and The Salvation Army is the number of volunteers on hand to make sure every empty plate is filled with food, she added.
There are 12 volunteers per hour each day making sure the food is properly served and the dining area is cleaned up after each meal at the mission. There were about 40 volunteers on hand Wednesday at The Salvation Army.
Dave Cappuzzello, of Canfield, came to volunteer serving food at the Rescue Mission for the first time this year. He said the experience can be a lesson to those young people who have not seen what it means to fall on hard times.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, so I brought my 16-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter to help out. I am a principal, and one of the teachers I work with came and brought her 11-year-old son. The kids learn that it is good to have a giving heart and do for others in the community,” he said.
Diane and George Malinky, of Austintown, with hugs and handshakes for all within reach, also showed up at the Rescue Mission prepared to volunteer in food service for the first time. The couple said they just look forward to the interaction with others at the mission.
“We are Christians. We love the Lord and we just love people,” Diane Malinky said.
Starcher said the food is bought by the mission with the exception of the actual turkeys. The turkeys are donated. A donor, Starcher said, actually pledged another 100 turkeys earlier this week. Many of those birds, he said, will likely be frozen to ensure there will be a Thanksgiving feast next year.
jgoodwin@vindy.com