MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Now wrapping up its first decade, Karen Kelly King hopes to serve 600 meals at the community thanksgiving this year.
King and an army of volunteers help put together the open-for-all Wesley United Methodist Church Community Thanksgiving, a truly uproarious event that brings community members together for Thanksgiving while also trying to help others enjoy a quiet Thanksgiving at home — if that’s what they choose.
“It’s incredible, people have been stepping up and just helping,” King said on Morgantown AM. “People want to take a vested interest in this and care about whether it succeeds or not.”
Only 29 people were at the first community Thanksgiving, but the event has since grown — serving more than 500 meals last year.
“We cook (turkey) in stages,” she said. “Even though we have four kitchens at the church, we cook them in stages and on Thursday just have to heat them up.”
While everyone is welcome to eat at Wesley United Methodist on Thursday, King said they’ll deliver at least 119 meals to first responders and offer take-out and delivery options for others who order ahead of time.
“Right now, 119 of those meals will go to first responders,” she said. “That’ll be the first thing we do on Thursday morning.”
That number could rise closer to 150. For those who aren’t first responders, you can have your food delivered by volunteers as long you place your order before 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“If they don’t, they’ll still get a meal,” King said. “But they’ll have to wait until all those other orders are filled to get their take-out.”
Of course, you can also just come down to the Wesley United Methodist Church, which features a wide array of community members and offers arts and crafts options for families with children.
In the meantime, it isn’t too late to donate.
“Whoever wants to donate, if people want to donate a turkey they can donate a turkey,” King said. “If they want to donate some other products, we’ll use them.”
The event, which is helped put on by an array of sponsors, is 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thanksgiving. For more information, call (304) 292-9485.