The Hearts That Give

the

HEARTS

that

GIVE

by Caylie Howard

The holidays are a time for quality time with family and friends and being thankful for what has been received throughout the year. However, often times the reason for the season can get lost in the holiday shopping, the festive baking, and the presents under the tree.

There’s really not much better than seeing a little child’s eyes light up with joy as they open their gift from Santa that they had been hoping to receive since they wrote it on their list.

And you can’t forget the Christmas feast. Every Christmas movie you watch includes some form of this delicious social gathering. It seems to be a common holiday tradition in many households.

Unfortunately, not every family will get to experience that excitement and participate in the scrumptious traditions. For some families, even in our own county, Christmas will be another day. Santa won’t be coming down the chimney to leave presents under the tree and there will be no grand holiday meal to enjoy around the table.

The Roanoke Food Pantry has set out, not only during the holidays but year round, to give their local community the opportunity to experience the magic of Christmas.

The Roanoke Food Pantry is a 501©3 organization that assists families in need year round. Even though they primarily see and assist women and children, they do help any and all members of their community that are in need. Most of the families that the Roanoke Food Pantry assist are residents of the NISD area, however, currently, at this time they aren’t able to serve the residents of Justin. But if you live in Justin there’s no need to worry. The Roanoke Food Pantry is able to provide you with the contact information for local support in your area.

The Roanoke Food Pantry helps provide, on average, around 75 families a month with food as well as items such as clothing, health and hygiene supplies, medical and dental care, and utility payments.

It comes as no surprise that the Christmas season is the food pantry’s busiest time of year. They often help more than twice the average amount of families in need. Their overall goal is to provide each family with a full Christmas dinner through their Christmas Basket program.

They also aim to ensure that each child in the area has a very merry Christmas. To achieve this, they host their annual Adopt-A-Child program. Both of these programs solely rely on the generosity of the communities donations.

With the help of our local community, the Roanoke Food Pantry is changing the lives of our local residents in need every single day. Thanks to their passion and commitment to bringing the holiday spirit to everyone in Roanoke, it’s safe to say that this year more families will have a merry Christmas and happier holidays.

For ways to donate, visit Roanokefoodpantry.org

Or call 817.491.4451

108 Pecan Street, Roanoke, TX 76262