CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman community combined efforts on Saturday, Nov. 22, at The Link of Cullman County’s Thanksgiving Meal Kit Drive-Thru event. Local churches, banks and other organizations worked hard to ensure local families will have a memorable Thanksgiving. In all, 361 people came through the distribution line, receiving Thanksgiving bags and donated turkeys.
The community contributed more than 450 bags and 150 turkeys for the event.
“It was amazing, truly a record,” said Avery Heis, community outreach coordinator for The Link. “So many people came together to make sure others were taken care of.”
Organizers said one of the most meaningful additions to this year’s event was a prayer station. Volunteers stood beside the drive-thru line holding signs that read, “Need Prayer?” More than half of the cars stopped.
“That was so amazing,” said Tonya Stephens, case intake manager at The Link. “People knew they were going to get taken care of physically, but I don’t think they realized how much love and support they have from the community around them.”
Stephens shared one moment that struck her deeply. A woman who regularly attends community meals stopped by to pick up a Thanksgiving bag. Her husband has been in the ICU on a ventilator for months.
“Today she told us he spoke for the first time. It may not sound like a big thing, but it is. We’ve been praying for him, and we’ve really felt his absence at our meals. Hearing that news was incredible.”
“I think that was the biggest takeaway,” Heis said. “People genuinely felt loved and cared for, maybe for the first time in a long time.”
The Link expressed gratitude to every volunteer, donor and participant who helped make the event possible and successful.
