300 families receive Thanksgiving meals in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - As countless families struggle to make ends meet amid the pandemic, several local organizations came together to provide them Thanksgiving meals this weekend.
The Salvation Army Fountain Corps, the Association for the United States Army, and other local organizations and businesses handed out meals to 300 families drive-thru style Saturday afternoon -- both military and civilian.
157 of the families were from the military.
"I'm pretty grateful for it to be honest especially after coming back from deployment," said soldier Joshua Carter. "It's wonderful, especially with everything that's going on, that people are still out here, still dedicated to helping out."
"Most people in the military -- it's just hard to actually go home for the holidays, and especially when your state is red zoned," Daniel Nascimento added.
Many of the other 143 families live in the Colorado Springs area and were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We lost our house this year," said Misty Taylor. "So we're staying with friends and family and we just really appreciate everything that we got, and it’s really nice, and it’s a blessing."
"Being out of work with the whole COVID situation has been very stressful for the family, so we're very grateful that we're able to have a Thanksgiving dinner because of them," Andrea Hernandez told KRDO.
Organizers told us they've been doing this for a long time, but this year they had their plates full.
“COVID-19 has devastated tons of families, families that would have never been here, finding themselves at our doors for assistance," Lt. Paul Chisholm explained. "It just breaks my heart, the state that we are in right now, but I am just so honored to be of service in helping anyone I can."
The Salvation Army has plenty of other events and give-aways planned for the holiday season.
Click the links below to learn how to donate to some of the local chapters:
The Salvation Army of the Fountain Valley
