ROANOKE, Va. – “You never know who is falling on hard times. We’re happy to help anybody. We don’t look down on nobody. We smile, we greet them with a smile when they come because it could be you,” Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office volunteer Gloria Baker said.
The Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office is working to fight food insecurity this holiday season with its first-ever Thanksgiving Give Back.
Sheriff Antonio Hash was just one of the people packing bags Friday for the event.
“To me, it’s important that we continue to serve our community at large,” Hash said. “Because again, it’s not about some of the adults, because they can take care of themselves. It’s about the kids that they have in their homes that need our support. So that’s where our heart is always driven, to create a family value.”
The department accepted 300 applications for Thanksgiving meals, which they will distribute Saturday morning at the Melrose Library.
Volunteer Gloria Baker spoke to all of the recipients personally.
“Some of them were excited, some of them were scared because I said the sheriff’s department, but I said, ‘you’re not in trouble, we’re just trying to feed you.” And they were like ‘oh I got accepted?’ Baker said. “So, they were real excited.”
Hash wants to make sure that Roanoke is taken care of.
“It’s important to give back to our community because as we all realize, a lot of people are in a position where they still don’t have even after this pandemic,” he said.
Baker understands the importance of giving back.
“I can say in my life that I’ve been there where I’ve had to be in somebody’s line to be able to feed me and my children being a single mother, so I’m happy,” she said. “I was happy to be able to do this. It brings tears to my eyes to see the volunteers and see everybody come here. It’s a joy.”
