Washington Students Donate Thanksgiving Food
Washington Primary School students have always been a generous bunch. That was demonstrated again last week when the youngsters donated hundreds of items to the school’s annual Thanksgiving food drive. More than 30 large boxes of food and other goods were collected over several days and presented to the Helping Hand Rescue Mission located at 225 Broadway in Huntington Station.
The Washington School community has made Thanksgiving a little bit brighter for the less fortunate for as long as anyone can remember. Principal Marsha Neville told students that their generosity was “remarkable” and will make a real difference in the lives of local families who are struggling.
The items will be used exclusively here in the Huntington community, according to the Rev. Rose Marie Gaines. The 73-year old, who is the executive director of the Helping Hand Rescue Mission, spoke with nearly 400 students in the Washington School gym, formally accepting the donation of hundreds of pounds of food and non-perishable items.
Rev. Gaines told students that when they sit down with their own families for Thanksgiving dinner they will be able to feel especially good knowing they helped others who would otherwise have gone hungry on the holiday. “You have done a great thing today,” she said.
The Helping Hand Rescue Mission was founded in 1965 by Rev. Gaines, her husband and her mother. According to the group’s website, “After witnessing local poverty conditions first hand, they invested everything they had with the view that if they could help even one person it was worth the investment.”
The Mission supplies food, clothing and furniture to needy families, as well as visiting elderly residents and delivering goods to the homes of those unable to come to the group’s headquarters. The Mission’s main priority is to reach children suffering under impoverished conditions, providing disadvantaged children with educational and character building instruction, school supplies and love.
For more information about the Helping Hand Rescue Mission go to their website at www.hhrm.net or call Rev. Gaines at 351-6996.
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