PORT ANGELES — Nearly 200 people ate a hot Thanksgiving meal at the Salvation Army on Wednesday, served by longtime volunteer workers and members of a semipro football team.
“It is so important to remember that we are all vulnerable to needing this kind of help,” said Kari Shields, one of dozens of volunteers.
“We are all just a paycheck away.”
The number who shared the free community feast, held a day before Thanksgiving, wasn’t a record, said Salvation Army Maj. Darvin Jordan.
It was about the same as last year’s record-setting number, when 210 people were served.
He noted a change in some of the volunteers.
Volunteerism
“One interesting thing is that we have our amazing volunteers who come every year, but this year, we have also had some people who are genuinely in need of food but have come to volunteer this year because they do not want to be seen as people who need help but those who are helping others,” Jordan said.
Shields is one of the longtime volunteers. She helps once a week. Free meals are served from noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Salvation Army at 206 S. Peabody St., Port Angeles.
“This is something I do all the time throughout the year,” she said.
“I work at First Federal, and . . . they really encourage us to be in the community and help out. They really facilitate the process of allowing us to do that.”
She was joined by employees of Wells Fargo bank, community volunteers and the semi-pro football team, the Olympic Peninsula Eagles.
Mike McMahan, coach of the Olympic Peninsula Eagles, said that volunteering was a good experience for his players.
“It is really important to me that the guys be involved in the community, to help out and really reach out to support the community that supports us,” McMahan said.
The team, which will have its first game in April, served food in two shifts, he said.
“This is just the beginning for us,” he said. “We are also working on a toy drive for the Salvation Army in December, and we will continue to be at these sorts of events.”
The Dream Center at 535 E. First St., Port Angeles, fed 32 young people at a free Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday.
The meal, for homeless and at-risk youth and young adults from the ages of 13 to 24, was served by 15 volunteers, said Alona Koehler, site manager.
Record numbers all year
The Salvation Army has been serving record numbers of people throughout 2009, Jordan said.
“Toward the beginning of the month we have 75, but after benefits and paychecks run out, we are serving 175,” he said.
Those benefits are running out faster than ever, he said, with most of those people showing up after the 10th of each month.
“It is so great to have all these amazing volunteers,” Jordan said.
“We are always in need of more.
“We depend on them to keep this organization going.
“And it isn’t just for meals, we have maintenance that we need done — we have portions of the building rotting, and we need help repairing it.”
Jordan said that most of the faces she saw Wednesday were familiar.
“I know almost all of the people here today,” he said.
He said each one had a touching story.
“There’s one guy who lives in a tent and has really never been in need before,” Jordan said.
“But now he fell on hard times, and we try to feed him and keep him healthy now.
“You look out there and you see some of the nicest people. There are so many veterans.
“We also see so many veterans who are mentally ill and cannot work. It is really heartbreaking to hear some of their stories.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
