Volunteers already are working to make Thanksgiving a happy holiday for needy families in the Washington region.

Jessica Forres observed some of them this weekend as they packed and delivered baskets of food...



As hundreds of volunteers inside Bell Multi-Cultural High School in Northwest pack boxes, Maureen Murphy-Smith and Vernon Lee wait at a loading dock outside. They will deliver food baskets to three families in DC...

WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR OUR BOXES. OUR NUMBER ARE 384. THEY GO BY NUMBERS, SO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE BOXES TO COME OUT.

Inside, Theo Malloy is in charge of the sweet potatoes...

THERE IS A STATION FOR EACH TYPE OF FOOD AND THE BOXES JUST COME AROUND AND STOP AT EACH STATION FOR A PACKAGE.

Ransom Miller watches intently. He's the founder of Project Giveback, which began feeding six families 14 years ago...

OUR PROGRAMS ALLOW PEOPLE TO COME IN ONE DAY, GIVE UP ONE MORNING WORK THEM REAL HARD, AND THEY CAN SEE THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR WHEN THEY DELIVER THE BASKETS AND SEE HOW APPRECIATIVE THE PEOPLE ARE.

Project Giveback will feed 5-hundred families this Thanksgiving.When volunteers Murphy-Smith and Lee make their first stop at Elaine Farley's house, her reaction is priceless.

OHHHHH MY GOSH. Y'ALL HAVE TO COME SEE ALL THIS. CIARRA, COME LOOK, SWEET POTATO PIE, OOOHHHH.FRUIT APPLES, WE'VE GO TWO CHICKENS HERE LAUGH, LAUGH.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

_______________________________________

Many needy families in the Washington area are receiving free turkeys, vegetables and fruit for the holiday, thanks to the efforts of volunteers.

Jessica Forres spent some time this weekend observing how one local non-profit is making a difference...

Ransom Miller started Project Giveback 14 years ago to provide Thanksgiving meals to families who might otherwise have gone without them....

EVERYBODY GETS A TURKEY, TWO CHICKENS, TWO SAUSGE, TWO ELBOW MACCARONI, TWO BOXES OF ORANGES, ONIONS. POTATOES, SWEET POTATO PIE.

Project Giveback has grown from serving 6 families to feeding 5-hundred this year. Ransom says the need is greater than ever...

PEOPLE WHO IN OTHER YEARS WHO WERE CONSIDERED BLESSED OR HAD ENOUGH, THEY DON"T. A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF WORK. A LOT OF PEOPLE FACING MORTGAGE ISSUES, ECONOMIC ISSUES PEOPLE FACING IN THE WASHINGTON, DC AREA.

More than 6-hundred volunteers took time this past weekend to sort, pack and deliver the baskets of food.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News