FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – The Courtney McGinnis Graham Community Shelter opened its doors to the homeless for the fourth annual Day of Thanks celebration on Wednesday.
Brock Spivey, the director of the shelter, said this was the third year the event was held at the shelter. He told News13 about 500 boxes of free traditional Thanksgiving dinner were served. The meals included turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, ham, and cornbread.
“We’ve had a great response and we’re just looking forward to everyone coming through,” Spivey said. “It’s a great day for us to bless our community and bless our neighborhood and just as a shelter, say ‘Hey, we’re here serving the community and we want to welcome you in today.”
Spivey said the shelter partnered with Signature Wealth Strategies to host the event. Victor’s Restaurant cooked the food and Jimmy John’s contributed sandwiches, chips, and beverages.
The event also offered a coloring booth for kids and a card station.
“They can come out here and send a Christmas card to anybody they want to,” said Ethan, one of the youth volunteers. “It’s free postage and they send it to whoever they want to. We have an address book if they don’t know their address. They can look it up.”
Two other volunteers, Chase and Carson, said they were happy to be helping others and spreading holiday cheer this Thanksgiving.
“They’re thankful for what they have and some of these people don’t have much,” said Carson. Chase said seeing other people smile makes him smile.
