Thanksgiving Baskets :)

Getting up early on a Saturday morning isn't always easy, but if it is for community service or a charity event, it is always worth it!

On Saturday, November 17th, mom and I headed for Pontiac to help pack Thanksgiving baskets for the needy. This program is run through Lighthouse of Oakland County, a non-profit organization that meets the needs of Oakland county residents ~ they even help to pay bills when people are struggling in an emergency situation such as no water, electricity, and even help pay for pharmacy needs.

I met so many wonderful people who wanted to help others during the Thanksgiving holiday! Our morning crew volunteered from 9am-12noon. There were several tables stocked with foods of all kinds and all of us volunteers walked around in a very organized way. We went from station to station and filled up brown grocery bags that were called "baskets." We started out with singles, then to two person families, to 3, and finally bags for families of 4 and the bags got heavier and heavier! Mom and I decided to put cardboard box lids under our bags because the cans were so heavy and the cardboard lids helped keep the heavy cans from falling over in the bag. Pretty soon others saw us and did the same thing!! We had started a trend!!! :)

In three hours we had bags for 450 families! It was awesome to see all of the food stocked on the tables even after filling 450 "baskets." We felt we had barely made a dent, but a new crew came in for the afternoon to continue the work from 1pm-4pm.

I hope they found the time as rewarding an experience as I did! With our state really struggling right now because of the economy and the automotive industry up and leaving Michigan, and all of the foreclosures, it is so nice to know that many pople will have food on their table this year that otherwise might not have!