Nov 26, 2009 7:05 pm US/Eastern
Volunteers At Bowery Serving Thousands Of Meals
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
People lined up outside the Bowery Mission on Thanksgiving Day, homeless or barely hanging on to an apartment, and hungry. Inside were so many more. However, inside was also hope. As bad as it may be for some, there were many complete strangers at the site, with goodness and a smile, ready to serve a holiday meal and say: you are not alone.
"For me, my family is in Atlanta and LA, I'm kind of new to the New York area, and rather than go spend it with other peoples' families, I wanted to come do some good and really help people out," said actress Shannon Elizabeth.
"Well, I'm homeless right now, and a lot of things happened this year, and just having a plate in my stomach, I'm happy. I'm very grateful, yes I am," said Charles Alvarez.
Rap pioneer KRS-One was also there, because he remembers when times were rough for him. "I used to be here. Back in 1986 I ate here. I was homeless for many years, and it was the Bowery Mission in particular that used to feed me, clothe me. I even wrote some of my records here," he said.
They served breakfast and they will serve seven dinners to thousands. To people like Nicholas and his wife, who, understandably, did not want her name used, they would not give up. "I'm a fighter," she said.
"You're doing a great job, far faster than I thought you would," one man said to volunteers.
At the Bowery Mission, they may be serving as many as 3,500 meals but they actually have satellite servers in the five boroughs and may serve as many as 8,000 meals. The folks are happy to get it, and the people we spoke to are even happier to give it.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
LIRR Changes Service For Wednesday's Snowfall 3 mins ago 
Bloomberg Closes Schools, Urges Drivers Off Roads 10 mins ago 
NYS Senate Votes To Immediately Expel Monserrate 29 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments