Ideas for the Holidays: Reaching Out to Your Community

Written by Alayna Patterson, Redcross.org

For many of us, it's just not the holidays without the traditional home-cooked meal, complete with all the trimmings. A turkey or goose, cooked to perfection, with cranberry sauce, vegetables and hot rolls piled high. The fact of the matter is, though, not every family has the resources for such a feast. The following American Red Cross chapters exemplify the spirit of giving that we cherish so much, especially around the holidays. Each chapter is an inspiration and an example to all of us to show that when you give a little of yourself, the rewards are often great.

The Thanksgiving Basket Program of Rome, NY - Overflowing with Goodness
Every Thanksgiving for the past 20 years, the Rome Area Chapter has provided holiday food baskets for local residents in need. A few weeks prior to Thanksgiving, individuals, couples and families meet with caseworkers to fill out an application and to determine their need. From that point on, recipients and their individualized baskets are known by a number in order to maintain confidentiality. Baskets are filled with a traditional holiday meal of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and the like. It's more than just dinner, too. Baskets contain breakfast, lunch and dinner items to last three to five days beyond Thanksgiving; and if the family has a need, diapers and baby food are usually included as well.

How does this all come together? With the aid of the community. Local schoolchildren bring non-perishable items and monetary donations to their schools. Items are then collected with the help of local military personnel and Red Cross volunteers. Then, together with area residents, items are sorted and packed according to applicants' needs. Early the day before Thanksgiving, recipients line up and present their numbers to claim their baskets. When needed, volunteers help transport baskets to cars or even deliver to homebound and senior recipients.

Brought Together by a Hurricane - Kept Together by the Red Cross
Ever since Hurricane Hugo blew through Myrtle Beach, SC, the Horry County Chapter of the American Red Cross has sought to provide area residents with a special place for Christmas dinner. It began as an idea to reach community members who found themselves without a home or simply alone for the holidays. In its first season, 12 years ago, a small group of volunteers weathered 15 inches of snow, hauling turkeys from house to house to cook. From a local church, they were able to feed a group of about 50 people, including on-duty police officers and firefighters.

Since then, the program has grown exponentially. The chapter anticipates around 2,500 guests to be served at three different locations or by delivered meals this year. Volunteers decorate the meal sites with items like donated table clothes, fresh-cut flowers and candles. Their chef, Mark Rybicci, coordinates the cooking of over 1,600 pounds of turkey, not to mention the ham, vegetables, stuffing, relish and desserts that are also prepared. To have everything ready for the big day, the cooking must begin two days prior! All of the preparation brings together a wonderful dinner complete with live entertainment. Thanks to over 150 volunteers, it's a time filled with good food, fun and fellowship for young and old, rich and poor, on Christmas Day.

Holiday Home Cooking Delivered to Your Door
The McKean-Potter Counties Chapter (PA) of the American Red Cross realizes that the holidays just aren't the same without a touch of home cooking. Nearly 31 years ago, the chapter learned that many clients who are unable to shop or cook for themselves often miss out on a traditional holiday meal. They came up with a solution: a specialized meal delivery program just for the holidays. Volunteers sign-up to cook a holiday meal (complete with all the trimmings) and deliver the home-cooked goodies to a Meals on Wheels client. Clients with special dietary needs, like diabetics, are matched with volunteers of the same. The chapter provides containers for volunteers to transport the meals and often find that volunteers pack enough for clients to enjoy over the holiday and the next day.

It's a small touch of home for persons who may not have family or friends nearby. Volunteers may be the only visitors these clients see on the holidays, making the visits even more special for all involved. Last year, the chapter provided 14,550 meals to 171 clients who range in age from 22 to 95. The program continues to prosper thanks to the goodness of local Red Cross volunteers.

Open Doors and Second Servings for All
For those seniors who just want to get out for a bit on Christmas Day, the American Red Cross Greater Beloit Chapter (WI) knows what to do. Every year they hold a Senior Christmas Day Dinner as a way to reach out to seniors who can no longer drive or are alone for the holidays. Inevitably, they find some homeless younger people, too, and as chapter Executive Director Sally Kramer states, "of course we turn no one away on Christmas Day."

Guests enjoy a family-style meal in a cheerful atmosphere with holiday music and visits from Santa. For those who cannot drive to the event, volunteers provide rides and may even give a tour of the city since many of the guests rarely have the opportunity to leave their homes.

The chapter informs the community of the special holiday celebration through all forms of publicity-from word of mouth, to radio ads, to newsletters and fliers. Under Kramer's direction, the chapter has succeeded in reaching out to the community for nearly 40 years. Her motivation is simple. "I have a special place in my heart for the elderly and the forgotten," she said.

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