LONGVIEW, Texas — Roughly 250 people came out to Hiway 80 Rescue Mission shelters in Tyler and Longview this week to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal featuring turkey, dressing, rolls and more.
On Wednesday, about 150 people received a meal among the Longview men's and women's shelters, Brian Livingston, executive director of Hiway 80 Rescue Mission, said. The previous day, 100 people got their Thanksgiving dinner at the nonprofit's Tyler event.
"Most of them have had at least seconds. We went through quite a bit of turkey and dressing over the past couple days," Livingston said. "It's just another opportunity for us to serve the community, just to minister to those that are less fortunate."
Volunteer April Musgrove was serving food with her two kids to those at the men's shelter in Longview. She started volunteering at Hiway 80 with her church four years ago.
"I just love giving back. My Lord Jesus Christ was a servant. And I want to be just like Him and serve as much as I can," Musgrove said.
She said it's been great to be a part of giving back to the community.
"If I was in that situation, I would be honored to have someone to serve me a meal and I'm glad that we get to come and do that," Musgrove said.
She brings her children with her to help make volunteering become a natural activity for them.
"A community helping one another is very, very important -- for us to continue always remembering that we we need each other," Musgrove said. "It just makes me feel good to be able to do something that is not selfish."
The setup for the meals was family style, which Livingston said encouraged fellowship and relationship building.
"It's just nice to see people smiling and having a good time. If they don't have a family (or) maybe they're far away from family, this just kind of gives them a family atmosphere to enjoy the holiday that they may not have had the most," Livingston said.
Hiway 80 Rescue Mission has shelters for men and women and children in Longview and a program shelter in Tyler. For more information, visit hiway80rm.org.