The Outreach Center’s Annual Thanksgiving Dinner to Feed Homeless

On Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd the community was invited to celebrate the holiday with the Outreach Center by sharing food and fellowship with our poor and homeless neighbors. For the ninth year Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and the Outreach Center staff joined together with community volunteers to feed Thanksgiving dinner to an estimated crowd of 400 impoverished community residents.

The celebration began with a chapel service at 10:30 a.m. featuring the Outreach Center’s “Voices of Recovery” choir followed by a meal at 11:00 a.m. at the Acadiana Outreach’s Celebration Center.

We would like to let you know how truly thankful we are for our partners who give help and hope to those in need. It was because of the volunteers who gave of their time and shared their hearts that we were able to serve more than 400 poor and homeless men, women and children a warm Thanksgiving meal.

And while our 'Voices of Recovery' client choir shared their message of hope through song and the volunteers served food, more simple stories of hope quietly played out…

One homeless man who came for the meal, Anthony, was so touched by the choir that he approached one of our team members and asked for help getting into a recovery program to change his life...

A husband and wife with three little children who had been living in their car walked in on this chilly day with no shoes on their feet and no jackets to keep them warm. Because of the generosity of donors and volunteers, not only were we able to give the family socks, shoes and sweaters, but by the time they left they had a safe home for the night and a volunteer who will bring the father to the new job she set up for him.

Simple gestures of love and kindness like these truly have the power to restore shattered lives. And without our partners we would not be able to help people in their hour of need, so please know that we are thinking of you when we count our blessings.

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