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Jaguars Bring Christmas Cheer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.– It’s as close to winter as Florida can get.
Thousands of white plastic bags filled with food and gifts blanketed the grass of a city park in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier in December, creating a visual winter wonderland of blessing.
For the last 10 years, this one-day community event has been helping struggling families with food and gifts during the holiday season, thanks to Operation Blessing’s partnership with NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Winn Dixie and Wachovia.
“It’s such a positive way to have an impact on the most needy in our community,” said Holly Cleveland, director of community affairs at Wachovia. “This is the single largest event that I manage throughout the year – and to see the amount of the work that gets done in a 5-hour period is absolutely incredible and everyone has a great time doing it.”
More than 250 volunteers came out to help with the event, including former alumni players with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“The community is part of us so we’re extremely fortunate to have an opportunity to come out and participate in an event like this,” said Bryan Barker, a punter with the Jaguars from 2000-2005.
But the real blessings of the event were felt by the recipients.
More than 3,000 families received bags of canned goods, drinks, produce and more, as well as gift bags for children containing books, dolls and special toys.
For Tamara, this event was the only way she was able to make Christmas happen for her two young sons.
“It’s been a hard year financially, we’ve had some illnesses and sickness in the family so money’s been tight and hasn’t quite been there,” she said.
“We were trying to see where we could get some help to make sure the kids had something. It’s all worth it to see their faces and them being happy.”
Over the last 10 years, more than 800,000 pounds of food has been distributed to help more than 25,000 families in need.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every day, the fleet of Hunger Strike Force trucks are on the road, delivering nutritious food and essential supplies to thousands facing hunger and poverty. With your help, we can continue to impact lives and give hope to those who need it most. Consider making an online donation today.
To make a donation that will help bring food to the hungry, visit:
www.ob.org/endhunger
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By Operation Blessing International
5
22 ratings
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.– It’s as close to winter as Florida can get.
Thousands of white plastic bags filled with food and gifts blanketed the grass of a city park in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier in December, creating a visual winter wonderland of blessing.
For the last 10 years, this one-day community event has been helping struggling families with food and gifts during the holiday season, thanks to Operation Blessing’s partnership with NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Winn Dixie and Wachovia.
“It’s such a positive way to have an impact on the most needy in our community,” said Holly Cleveland, director of community affairs at Wachovia. “This is the single largest event that I manage throughout the year – and to see the amount of the work that gets done in a 5-hour period is absolutely incredible and everyone has a great time doing it.”
More than 250 volunteers came out to help with the event, including former alumni players with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“The community is part of us so we’re extremely fortunate to have an opportunity to come out and participate in an event like this,” said Bryan Barker, a punter with the Jaguars from 2000-2005.
But the real blessings of the event were felt by the recipients.
More than 3,000 families received bags of canned goods, drinks, produce and more, as well as gift bags for children containing books, dolls and special toys.
For Tamara, this event was the only way she was able to make Christmas happen for her two young sons.
“It’s been a hard year financially, we’ve had some illnesses and sickness in the family so money’s been tight and hasn’t quite been there,” she said.
“We were trying to see where we could get some help to make sure the kids had something. It’s all worth it to see their faces and them being happy.”
Over the last 10 years, more than 800,000 pounds of food has been distributed to help more than 25,000 families in need.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every day, the fleet of Hunger Strike Force trucks are on the road, delivering nutritious food and essential supplies to thousands facing hunger and poverty. With your help, we can continue to impact lives and give hope to those who need it most. Consider making an online donation today.
To make a donation that will help bring food to the hungry, visit:
www.ob.org/endhunger