MOUNT VERNON — Magic is a word often associated with Christmas, but for Ginny Williams, president of the Knox County Chapter of the Byron Saunders Foundation, it describes her childhood Thanksgivings.
Recalling how the kids would get together and play while the aroma of Thanksgiving dinner wafted through the house, Williams said, “It was magical. It was memories that you can take with you to the grave. Kids don’t have that today, so we are trying to recreate those memories for kids today.”
The group provides the food items, including a turkey, that families need to fix a Thanksgiving dinner. Williams started the Knox County Chapter in 2003 after a visit from BSF founder Brian Wollenberg. That first year, she delivered 23 meals. This year, 409 families will receive a meal.
“It was good to start out small and then grow,” she said. “This year we have 409 families; that’s not just people, that’s families.”
When the number of families reached 102, Williams switched from delivering the meals to having a central location where families pick up their meals. “A lot of these families work, so it’s hard to find them all at home,” she explained.
Families receiving a meal do not know who submitted their name. “Everything is anonymous,” said Williams. “You have to understand these are not just low-income families, they’re also families who have faced hardship for a medical reason, or maybe lost a job. Sometimes pride takes over and they don’t want to accept the meal.”
For the second year, volunteers from law enforcement helped deliver meals. “This is a good outreach for them, too,” said Williams, “because they go places we don’t go.”
“I see my people on a regular basis, and I get to know them and I get to know their needs,” said Julie Fisher, a probation officer with the Mount Vernon Municipal Court. “ I know that half of the time they are scrounging around for a meal. This definitely helps during this season.”
Fisher related the gratefulness of one man she delivered a meal to last year. “He said that with food banks, you can get food, but not enough to make a meal,” she said.
On Saturday, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Mount Vernon, Danville and Fredericktown police departments joined the probation department in delivering 41 meals. Many other businesses and service organizations support the chapter by holding food drives, delivering meals and contributing financially.
“There are only six of us [in the Knox County Chapter], so we couldn’t do it without all of the other volunteers,” said Williams. “We’ve been blessed every year how God does it.”
