TULSA, Okla. — John 3:16 Mission has been in desperate need of turkey donations to feed Thanksgiving dinner to those who are struggling financially this year.
Two semi-trucks loaded with turkeys were brought to the John 3:16 family and youth center not only meeting their need but exceeding it.
For this year’s Thanksgiving meal John 3:16 made a goal to receive 5,000 turkeys to feed struggling Tulsa area residents a holiday meal.
With a donation of about 4,000 turkeys from Honeysuckle White and The Fishin' Company, Reverend Steve Whitaker tells me they exceeded their goal by about 700 turkeys.
“I can’t begin to say the difference that it makes. Imagine what it would be like to be in our place and say no to somebody we can’t help you this year," said Rev. Steve Whitaker, CEO of John 3:16. "So it's a wonderful feeling to know that we can really stand in the gap for folks this year.”
Rev. Whitaker says the lack of donations this year wasn’t about money.
“Some of our regular donors that have helped us in the past have just said, 'We want to help. We just can’t find a turkey,' So we were wondering what was going to happen this year.”
While they now have the turkeys needed for the festive meal, they still need donations for side dishes.
“Now the rest of it is the canned goods, the yams, the pumpkin pie filling and all the things to make a full Thanksgiving meal festive for the people that are coming to John 3:16,” Rev. Whitaker said.
He says they need side dishes for another 2,500 people but are hopeful that need will be met too.
They will be handing out Thanksgiving food baskets next week from Monday through Wednesday.
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