Hope Ministries Serves Over 900 Thanksgiving Meals on Thanksgiving Day

Nov. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- For Further Information

Emily Jensen

Volunteer Coordinator

Hope Ministries

South Bend, IN 46601

(574) 235-4150, ext. 222

cell: 574-304-3660

ejensen@hopesb.org

www.hopesb.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 22, 2012

HOPE MININTRIES’ THANKSGIVING DINNER PLANS

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA

DATE: At 6:00 p.m. on November 27, volunteers and staff will begin preparing Thanksgiving meals. Media opportunities will continue until 12:30 p.m. on November 28.

LOCATION: Hope Ministries Original Building, 532 S. Michigan Street in South Bend. Parking is available at Midas, across the street.

Since it’s inception as Hope Rescue Mission in 1954, Hope Ministries has been offeringfree meals to individuals and families in St. Joseph County, resulting in an average of 8,000 meals served each month. Thanksgiving dinner at Hope grew in 1992 when staff and volunteers began preparing and delivering additional meals for individuals who receive services from other agencies closed on Thanksgiving.

This year, over 100 volunteers and numerous food donations will allow 300 meals to be served at Hope Ministries while over 600 meals will be prepared and delivered to Michiana residents who have requested Thanksgiving meals through REAL Services and the Housing Authority of South Bend.

If anyone would like to donate food items for the Thanksgiving meals, Hope Ministries would appreciate having the following items delivered to 532 S. Michigan Street by Wednesday, November 27: ready-to-serve dinner rolls (no baking required), cranberry sauce, chicken broth, individual cups of margarine, and already baked pumpkin or apple pies.

Hope Ministries has had a tremendous response from Thanksgiving volunteers and has filled all the available volunteer roles, but welcomes anyone interested in volunteering or donating in the future to contact Emily Jensen (ejensen@hopesb.org, 574-235-4150, ext. 222) or visit www.hopesb.org.

Timeline for Thanksgiving meals:

6:00 pm on November 27: Ben Sadler of Buchanan, MI arrives at Hope Ministries’ original building (532 S. Michigan Street) to begin cooking turkeys in a large, outdoor roaster throughout the night. Ben Sadler will be joined by Calvin Chapman, Hope’s Food Service Manager.

4:00 am – 7:00 am on November 28: Six volunteers arrive to begin carving 60 turkeys.

9:30 am – 12:00 pm: Twenty-five volunteers arrive to begin an assembly line for packing boxes of over 600 Thanksgiving meals to be delivered. John Kabzinski and family have been volunteering in this role for the past 13 years. John leads and organizes the packing of the meals and will be at Hope Ministries from 9:00 am – 11:45 am.

10:45 am – 11:45 am: Thirty groups of volunteers arrive (in designated 15 minute increments) to pick up and deliver Thanksgiving meals to more than 600 Michiana residents.

12:00 pm at Hope Ministries Family Life Center (432 S. Lafayette Blvd. in South Bend): Thanksgiving dinner will be catered and served for Hope residents (men, women and children) by a local family.

12:00 pm at Hope Ministries Original Building (532 S. Michigan Street in South Bend): Thanksgiving dinner will be served for 125+ non-residents (men, women and children who visit for meals but are not currently residents of Hope Ministries) by a local family.

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Hope Ministries, formerly Hope Rescue Mission, has been serving men, women and children in St. Joseph County since 1954. Primarily operating out of the Family Life Center (432 S. Lafayette Blvd), Hope Ministries seeks to transform hearts, minds and lives by engaging families and individuals in a Christ-centered, grace-based process of examiningtheir current realities, envisioningtheir future possibilities, and enabling action to achievetheir desired futures.