Rescue Mission serves 2,300 people during annual Christmas dinner

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Close to 23-hundred people were served a free Christmas dinner at The Rescue Mission on Christmas afternoon.

About 900 people were served in a makeshift dining room at the chapel at The Rescue Mission.  The remaining 14-hundred meals were served to go.  The Rescue Mission had prepared 24-hundred meals in advance.

Individual and group donations, along with the help of more than 120 volunteers, made the Christmas meal possible.  The work began about a month ago.  Reverend Donovan Coley said some volunteers signed up to volunteer for Christmas Day as early as August.

"Many of them are sacrificing their family time," Coley said.  "And I think that is what Christmas is all about.  It's individuals giving back and also not thinking about themselves.  To see the families and individuals who say, I just want to serve."

Coley said it costs around $20,000 to put the Christmas meal together each year. All of the money comes from donations from the community; none of it is funded by the government.

The Rescue Mission prepared 24-hundred meals because that was the number of people it served at Thanksgiving.  The mission's busiest day of the year.

"There's this huge gap still in the city of Fort Wayne," Coley said.  "There's still a disparity from those who have and those who don't.  It is our desire to just bring hope to the many who are still needing that extra help at Christmas time,"

Coley said the work being down by his staff and volunteers is noticed by the people they help.

"Many of them are saying thank you, you are are a great neighbor.  It's really exciting to see folks benefit from what the community has contributed to The Rescue Mission," Coley said.

This year, the meal included oven roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, green beans, and assorted pies.

The Rescue Mission serves three meals every day of the year.

A second meal was served at 5:00 on Christmas evening.