Community Corner
Loudouners Provide Meals to Needy
Good Shepherd Alliance, Loudoun Interfaith organize meals for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving dinner will be a reality for hundreds of local families who are in need.
Loudoun Interfaith Relief started distributing meals over the past weekend, according to Bonnie Inman, Executive Director of Loudoun Interfaith Relief.
The organization collected enough Thanksgiving baskets for 2,000 dinners, which included everything to prepare a meal.
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In addition, they collected gift cards so families could go out and purchase additional food for the meals, especially turkeys, which are more difficult to distribute due to space.
“So far, we have distributed 1,100 meals and we will continue to distribute them until Wednesday afternoon,” Inman said.
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"We are meeting the current need, thanks to the generosity of the community. We will be doing the same meal distribution for Christmas, if anyone would like to make a contribution they can contact us," Inman added.
The Good Shepherd Alliance (GSA) is also providing meals for people who are currently residing in their seven homes in the area.
“We have pulled together meals for all of them, including turkeys and food items so they can prepare the meals themselves at the homes”, said Vickie Koth, Executive Director of Good Shepherd Alliance.
Currently, the GSA has 60 people living in homes, as well as an emergency shelter which serves eight families.
The GSA has collected more than enough to provide for the need this year. They have an additional outreach program for families that are not homeless, but are struggling and they provide resources for those folks too, according to Koth.
“We like to try to help them have a nice long weekend with their families and we try to make it relaxing,” Koth said.
Looking ahead to the Christmas holiday, people can contact the GSA to sponsor a family or help provide gifts for last minute needs.
Loudoun Interfaith Relief's mission is to provide emergency food assistance to anyone living in Loudoun County. They are located at 750 Miller Dr, Suite A-1, Leesburg. 703-777-5911.
The Good Shepherd Alliance's mission is to provide help for the homeless and those in need of transitional assistance. They are located at 20684 Ashburn Rd, Ashburn. 703-724-1555.
