Donations are down and the need is up at charities all over the Green Country. It could mean some families will be going without this holiday season.
At the John 3:16 Family and Youth Center, there will be free meals available for people with a need this Thanksgiving holiday. The fear is, this year there may not be enough turkeys to go around.
The story is similar at the Salvation Army, where people can get a warm holiday meal on Thanksgiving day. Donations for their meal are down 20% compared to this time last year, and they are expecting to feed 26% more people.
At the John 3:16 Mission, they gave away about 5,000 turkey dinners last year. This year they expect up to 7,000 families to come through their doors in need a of a Thankgsiving meal.
As of now, they only have 3,000 turkeys to give away and they're not sure if enough donations will come through in time for the holiday.
"The truth of the matter is we're just proceeding by faith right now, and we're prayful that we will be able to meet the needs of the other families that come to us just in a couple of weeks now," said Rev. Steve Whitaker, the executive director of the John 3:16 Mission.
Even restaurants are feeling the pinch, Duffy's in Broken Arrow serves a free holiday meal on Thanksgiving, this is the first year the restaurant has asked for donations from patrons to help pay for the meal.
You can donate a turkey or side items for the John 3:16 Mission at their downtown location, 506 N. Cheyenne anytime, day or night. You can donate during daytime hours at their north Tulsa location at 2027 N. Cincinnati. Monetary donations are also accepted.
You donate money at Duffy's restaurant at 706 South Elm Place in Broken Arrow.
To donate to the Salvation Army fund just head to their
website.
