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Pocono News Section
Thousands Benefit from Family to Family Thanksgiving Tradition
Thousands Benefit from Family to Family Thanksgiving Tradition - Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 11:50AM EST
Reported by: Mark Hiller
Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009 @ 11:50am EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - An annual grassroots Thanksgiving food drive will allow thousands of Scranton area families to enjoy a holiday feast who otherwise couldn't.
Thousands of people stood in line, Wednesday, for hours to get a turkey and all the trimmings -- for free. It's made possible thanks to tens of thousands of dollars in donations and hundreds of helping hands organized by the Family to Family Thanksgiving Food Program.
A long line stretched from the Scranton Cultural Center and wrapped around the block. It's been a familiar site, now, for 23-years.
Only this year, the need is greater -- and the families benefiting from this couldn't be more thankful. "We're very excited and blessed that people come out and give to the people like this," said recipient Fred Barile of Scranton. "This is great."
Roxanne Marsico of Scranton showed up early to get food for her family. She said, "It feels good seeing that everybody's being able to get Thanksgiving."
Some 3,000 families receive a Thanksgiving feast to make at home -- everything from a turkey and stuffing, to fruit and vegetables and a traditional pumpkin pie.
To give you an idea of the demand for this year's Thanksgiving Family To Family Program, the giveaway didn't even start until 9 a. m. The crowd started forming as early as 5 a. m.
Volunteers started early, too. Some 600 of them helped bag the turkeys and get the rest of the food ready for distribution.
They're volunteers from all walks of life -- including Richard Hampton and several other inmates from SCI Waymart. "It makes you feel happy, you know, that you're taking care of the people," said Hampton.
It took about $80,000 in community donations so that Family to Family's founding family could make this happen. "That's the thing that never ceases to amaze us. How the community steps up to the challenge every year," said Family To Family Organizer and Co-founder Dr. Jim Burne of Scranton
The Lackawanna Bar Association donated $10,000 to the cause. Its president, Attorney Jim Price, said,
"And to be able to contribute to the Burne family and this wonderful day, it's just the right thing to do."
That's something that's especially true in tough times. "You know, it is not a thousand dollars. It's a couple bags of food, but it brings such pleasure for Thanksgiving," said Family To Family Organizer and Co-founder Mary Lou Burne.
It's something the Burne family sees every year since starting the program in 1987. When asked if Dr. Burne could envision the day when the Family To Family Thanksgiving Program would end, he said no because there will always be families who need help with food. | | |
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