Charisma News – Christians Remember the Poor During Thanksgiving

Christians across the U.S. spent Thanksgiving helping the poor in their communities by distributing food before and during the holiday. Campus Crusade for Christ distributed enough “Boxes of Love” to feed more than 111,000 families nationwide. In Florida, Tampa-based Without Walls International, in cooperation with Paula White Ministries, distributed turkeys and a week’s worth of groceries to thousands of needy families through its annual Table in the Wilderness outreach. And in Washington, D.C., the Washington Redskins teamed with Operation Blessing, a nonprofit organization founded by Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, for the annual Harvest Feast. The groups distributed some 32,000 pounds of turkey and 120,000 pounds of fresh and packaged food. “I am so thankful….. I've got four grandchildren, and I am raising them all,” said Mary Johnson, 64, who stood with 20,000 others in a line that wrapped around the NFL’s FedEx Field, the Washington Post reported. Although many of the outreach activities were held before the holiday, Central Union Mission, also in Washington, focused its efforts on those with nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, according to the Christian Post Web site. The mission served roughly 200 meals and provided beds for the homeless Thanksgiving evening. “Only the most hardcore of the homeless don’t have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving Day,” said the mission’s executive director, O. Treadwell, according to the Post. “This is what ministry is all about.”