Bonney Lake, WA (PRWEB) November 23, 2013
Working directly with local food banks and public schools, the Community Big Give, originally initiated by Open Life Church in 2010, has grown more than 600% in just 3 years. The 2013 Community Big Give is all set to provide 1,000 Thanksgiving meals for Pierce County individuals and families in need that might not otherwise be able to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Last year’s Big Give served 500 families. This year, Living Hope Church of Sumner joined Open Life, effectively doubling the size of the event with a second distribution site in Sumner.
Thanksgiving meal kits will be distributed at two locations, the Bonney Lake Wal-Mart and Sumner High school. Individuals and businesses throughout the community donate money and supplies needed, but the Community Big Give is about more than simply distributing the food needed to prepare a Thanksgiving meal.
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, local high school students, business owners, church members and individual community members will be on hand to assemble and distribute re-usable shopping bags filled with turkeys, potatoes, canned goods and other foods traditionally served on Thanksgiving. Volunteers even escort recipients to their cars to help carry the supplies.
Vouchers for the Thanksgiving meal kits are distributed directly by local schools and food banks ahead of time to local residents in need of help, who then redeem them at Community Big Give distribution sites on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Giving big to the Bonney Lake community is nothing new for Open Life. In keeping with its core value of being present within the community, Open Life Church has a track record of saying ‘Yes’ when it comes to serving the needy in Bonney Lake. In late August 2013, the church donated backpacks with all of the school supplies needed for every student at Liberty Ridge Elementary School, a school with an exceptionally high number of families living near or below the poverty level.
100% of donations designated for the Community Big Give go to help buy the food and supplies needed to make the event happen. Those interested in volunteering or donating can do so on the Community Big Give website throughout the year or search social networks with hashtag #BigGive13 for updates.
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The Community Big Give, spearheaded by Open Life Church in Bonney Lake provides food needed to prepare traditional Thanksgiving dinners to area residents in need of assistance. The Community Big Give has been held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving annually since 2010.
More information about the Community Big Give can be found at http://communitybiggive.com/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CommunityBigGive.