500 enjoy free meal at Woodmore High

ELMORE - After three hours, 22 turkeys and 500 fed bellies, locals stuck around to socialize with friends new and old during the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Woodmore High School.

Event organizer Robin Hindall said the meal grows each year as more and more people either can't afford to make a meal, or they are alone and want to enjoy the company of local residents from Ottawa and Sandusky County.

"It's a great time to get together and it is really important for a lot because the meal doesn't just meet the need for poverty, it meets the need socially. We have about 16 businesses and 14 churches that come together for this," Hindall said.

The event brought many together including 155 volunteers serving food, doing dishes and collecting canned food and toys to be donated to local families in need.

"The Toys for Tots go to kids in Genoa, Elmore and Woodville and some money is given to the Liberty Center in Fremont," said Hindall.

Because of the growing needs in the surrounding community, Elmore Church of God Pastor Tom Willhardt said he wanted to create a way for everyone in the community to come together, and hosting a Thanksgiving meal was the best way to bring everyone together.

"We were finding out that people were alone because of lost loved ones or children who live out of town and we wanted to help them build new relationships," Willhardt said.

Hindall said she hopes the meal continues to grow each year, with more people in and out of the community volunteering three hours from their Thanksgiving to give back to others.

Michelle and Aaron Marks, friends of Hindall, donated their time and drove from Toledo to accept donations of food and toys. They were shocked by the amount of donations coming through the door.

"It's 11 a.m. and people are bringing handfuls of bags of groceries and toys," Michelle said.

cshoup@gannett.com

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