At the Nashville Rescue Mission, thankfulness is rarely in short supply. Through the generosity of faithful friends like you, nearly 600,000 meals will be served by the end of this year—over 5,000 of them served during the Great Thanksgiving Banquet.

GREAT BANQUET

For over 55 years, the Great Thanksgiving Banquet has become a tradition of people helping total strangers…generosity and hope for folks society has written off, discarded and set aside…a day for those at the end of the line to become first…an example of a community at it’s best when it’s citizens stoop down and serve others.
   
“We look forward to the Great Thanksgiving Banquet all year long,” says Don Worrell, Nashville Rescue Mission President and CEO. “By the time this day is over, our homeless friends will have eaten a Thanksgiving meal as good as grandma’s, and hundreds of volunteers, city leaders and celebrities will have a better understanding of homelessness and the efforts the Mission provides in solving it.” 
   
GROCERY LIST

Preparations are underway for this year’s annual Thanksgiving dinner for the poor and hurting of Middle Tennessee. When the grocery list includes 9,000 pounds of turkey, 5,000 dinner rolls, 1,000 pounds of potatoes, 100 gallons of gravy, 600 pounds of dressing and 800 pounds of green beans, the task of preparing and serving the Great Thanksgiving Banquet is enormous. Year after year and meal after meal, God’s faithfulness is revealed through the generosity of friends like you.
   
“The community starts dropping off donations for Thanksgiving around November 1st and non-stop right up to Thanksgiving Day,” explains Major Jones, Food Service Manager for the Mission. “It is really a sight to see how the community comes together to support the homeless people the Mission serves.”

TWO-DAY CELEBRATION

The Great Thanksgiving Banquet is a celebration of hope occurring each year because of tireless efforts set forth by the Mission’s staff and volunteers. Homeless men, women and children will be filled with a fabulous Thanksgiving feast providing the encouragement and hope necessary for a new life and path off the streets.
   
“When we’re talking about someone’s life hanging in the balance, I will gladly give myself to a cause such as this,” explains Leigh Reynolds, a frequent volunteer at the Mission.
   
The Great Thanksgiving Banquet is a campaign by the Nashville Rescue Mission, and more than 300 Rescue Missions nationwide, serving over 500,000 meals to the homeless and hungry. This two-day event will occur on Wednesday, November 25th and Thursday, November 26th. The Great Thanksgiving Banquet represents the largest effort of the year in providing food and life-changing programs to the homeless and hurting in our country.
   
As you can see, your support of the Nashville Rescue Mission this Thanksgiving will improve lives of homeless men, women and children right here in our community, and impact lives nationwide.