Councilman Dodd and his fellowship serve and deliver Thanksgiving meals

JACKSON, Tenn. — Thanksgiving is a national holiday known for bringing together friends and family over a good meal.

But many West Tennesseans do not have the opportunity to be around friends and family, or the ability to afford or cook a good meal.

“I’ve been sick a lot, and I’ve been in the hospital a lot, so I wasn’t able to cook,” said Brenda Akines. “So this has been a real help to me.”

Akines is just one of the Jackson residents who will enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner today, thanks to City Councilman Johnny Dodd and the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church; this year, along with the Jackson Police Department and Madison County Sheriff’s Department.

“You have to have a relationship with the people in the police department, and the police department has to have a relationship with the people in the community. And once you have that collaboration of people working together, you have a great community,” said Councilman  Dodd.

Dodd said he could not have pulled this day of giving off all by himself. He said Reverend Ronald Benton, Sr. and a handful of volunteers could have chosen to spend it in the comfort of their home.

“But a lot of them said I want to come out today and give back, and make a sacrifice to be away from my family for a couple of hours to give back to the community; put a smile on someones face,” said Dodd.

McMillan Towers is just one of the places Councilman Dodd has been delivering Thanksgiving meals to each year. And the residents there said, it means the world to them.

“I thank the Lord for being alive, just being alive, I thank him for being so good to me. I thank him for Councilman Dodd,” said Akines.