As of Monday afternoon, NewsLanc was faced with a down-beat story for the Thanksgiving holiday. Maria Schaszberger, Director of Communications for Water Street Ministries, had reported that the Mission was coming up critically short in turkey donations received for its Thanksgiving dinners and food box program. With about 1,100 needed, the Mission had only received 300 turkeys, according to a count from last week.
But then, on Tuesday, Schaszberger checked the newly updated count and sent NewsLanc the following message:
“You won’t believe this—I don’t believe it yet myself!—but we received 2,000 turkeys in the last week! The count is up to 2,100! Absolutely amazing. If we would happen to exceed the 2,500 mark, the Water Street Mission will be able to provide more meals with good, quality meat!”
Schaszberger referred to this rush of donations as nothing less than a “turkey miracle.” The Mission, she said, had hoped to receive about a total of 2,500 for Thanksgiving and Christmas combined.
Schaszberger maintained, however, that general food donations remain a problem this year. According to Schaszberger, the Rescue Mission Food Drive—which comprises the Water Street Mission, York Rescue Mission, and Lebanon Rescue Mission—has only received 30 of the 112 tons of food needed for this holiday season. “That means we need to receive 80 tons in the next 3 weeks—about 25 tons a week!,” Schaszberger said, noting that “the giving has been steady compared to last year’s effort, but the need has increased so much.”
In 2008, the Communications Director explained, Water Street Mission served 14,000 meals each month; in 2009, that figure has risen to 15,100.
Since the onset of the recession, Schaszberger said, the Mission has seen a rise in the number of general donations while the size of those donations individually has decreased. Schaszberger asserted that this trend shows that many local residents have “a heart to give,” but simply may not be able to give as much in these pressing times.
For more information about the Rescue Mission Food Drive, click here; for more information about the Turkey Drive, click here.
