Elected officials join volunteers for Project Care in Gibson County
GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A local community comes together for an annual tradition to make sure everyone in their community has a meal for Thanksgiving.
“They are just excited to see us,” said volunteer Javier Lopez. “They are waiting at the door and they are like, ‘Oh yeah, I couldn’t wait for you to get here,’ so it is really nice to be able to give like that.”
It’s called Project Care.
“Senior citizens that were home and not able to be with family, they were not able to cook this meal, and we just want to make sure that they get a traditional Thanksgiving meal,” said Gibson County Office on Aging Director Pam Dethloff.
Elected officials and volunteers in Gibson County competed in a friendly competition to see which team could make meals the fastest, before ultimately delivering them to the community.
“Turkey and dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls. They will all be packaged up hot and delivered promptly to doors throughout the county,” said Gibson County Mayor Nelson Cunningham.
“We’re proud to say we are going to serve 218 meals this year all over the county,” said City of Bradford Mayor Dwayne Reynolds.
Lopez says he delivers meals every year, and wouldn’t want to spend his Thanksgiving morning any other way.
“Sometimes they have nobody come to see them at all today and they are alone,” Lopez said. “We see them, we give them a hug, tell them we love them, give them a good meal, and it just makes their day. It makes our day. I think we probably get more out of it than they do.”
Bradford resident Jerry Arrington says he appreciates the time and care they put in to deliver the meals.
“Oh it is terrific, you know,” Arrington said. “I live by myself, I am 75. My kids are in Georgia and Alabama, so I am the lone ranger out here.”
This is the 30th year that Project Care has taken place, and they hope to continue for many years to come.
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