Published: November 07, 2009 09:48 am      

Good Shepherd seeking holiday donations

Huntsville’s Good Shepherd Mission is seeking community donations of frozen turkeys and hams to be distributed to Walker County’s needy families this Thanksgiving.

The mission is partnering with local Salvation Army representatives to collect a goal number of more than 300 turkeys and hams, which will be given to families during Good Shepherd food distributions starting Nov. 16.

According to the Rev. Dave Smith, executive director of the mission, the Salvation Army has provided a grant of $1,500, which will purchase approximately 150 turkeys, but the mission is relying on community members to donate the rest.

“We need a little more than 300 turkeys to give out to local needy families,” Smith said. “This is the second year the Salvation Army has actually participated and helped us with the program.”

As the turkeys are collected, Smith said the mission will give them out during their tri-weekly food and grocery distributions to local families.

The mission also plans to serve its traditional feast on Thanksgiving Day.

Smith said this year has shown an even greater need for donations during the holiday seasons, as more families have recently been added to the needy list at the mission.

“In the past four months we’ve had over 300 new households added to our rolls from Walker County,” Smith said. “They’re not all coming every week, but there’s a lot of new faces that we haven’t seen before. The needs are as great as ever.”

Donated turkeys and hams should be frozen, and delivered to the mission at 1005 Martin Luther King Boulevard any time between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

For more information, contact the mission at (936) 291-8156.