For the last nine years, the Ben M. Elrod Center for Family and Community through Ouachita Baptist University has been able to help families in need each Thanksgiving season. Judy Duvall, Assistant Director of the Elrod Center, leads the project by contacting the local Lighthouse Ministries office as well as area school counselors to gather names of families in need.
Between the two different groups, they stay on the lookout throughout the year for families going through tough times, families that could really use encouragement and need the food.
A couple weeks before the delivery, Duvall gets a list of names. From that list she makes a list by identifying how many children and how many adults are a part of each family so that each family will have adequate amount of food.
“I email the campus and let them know that we are looking for donations and give them specific items that they can donate. We also encourage them to think about making baked goods because we also put baked goods in each of the baskets,” Duvall said.
The Elrod Center collects the food and begins the process of filling the boxes a few days before the event. The day the baskets are sent out to be delivered is the day they pick up the turkeys.
Each year, about 50 families are aided for Thanksgiving. This year there were 66 families that needed help. Ouachita, along with the CONE foundation and Elrod Center, was able to provide budget to make the baskets possible.
On Monday, November 23, the Elrod Center asked for anyone interested in delivering a basket to stop by and pick one up.
“We encourage them to provide encouragement to the families and ask them if there are any prayer needs,” Duvall said.
When the volunteers arrived at the Elrod Center, the baskets had a piece of paper on top. On the paper was the name and phone number of the family that was receiving the basket. The volunteers would call the family and let them know they were receiving a Thanksgiving basket.
The volunteers let the families know they are from Ouachita and have food to deliver to their home. Throughout the conversation, the families will ask things such as, “How did you know about me?” or “How did you know that I needed food?” The volunteers let them know they received their names from either The Lighthouse Ministries or area school counselors.
Generally there are tears and an overwhelming amount of gratitude. There are times where families will ask what they can do for the food when receiving the baskets. Duvall encourages the volunteers to tell them that one of these days when they are on their feet to just pay it forward.
“One of these days you will be able to do this for someone else,” Duvall said.
Through this, they are encouraged and look forward to being able to help another family in the future.
“It is just one meal, it isn’t a job or a promise of good health, but sometimes a meal that the family is able to share together is enough to give them hope to move forward through a hard time,” Duvall said.
By Brent Northington.
