Volunteers provide free hot holiday meal at H.C. King Center

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - Thanksgiving is less than a day away and many will be enjoying a hot, home cooked meal and spending time with family making memories. Unfortunately, for others there may not be a meal waiting for them, which is why some community members came together to provide one for them today at the H.C. King Center.

”If you can do something for somebody else, do it, regardless of if they can give it back, regardless of if you get something in return, just being able to help somebody and make their day better is what the goal is,” Rosezella Burrage said.

Burrage recently moved to Lawton from Chicago, where she says she’s led a life of helping others.

Thanks to her volunteerism here in Southwest Oklahoma, she’s met others that feel the same way.

”We’ve heard people say thank you for what you’ve done today, it meant a lot for us, so it’s just being able to be a blessing for those that may not have family and community here. We get to come together and be that community for them,” Dominique Torres said.

Dominique, a first time volunteer today says the feeling she has from helping is uncomparable, encouraging her to volunteer more in the future. Around fifteen people volunteered, providing and serving food to those who showed up hungry and ready to eat from eleven to two o’clock. For hungry one couple, the food was only their second favorite part of the day.

”Seeing the kids get involved and the parents letting the be involved,” Billy Hendershot said.

“Teaching them the importance of giving back,” Lori Osborn said.

At least thirty people got the chance to get a bite to eat, thanks to the community’s volunteer efforts. For some not able to make it to the Center, those efforts extended into delivering meals directly to them. Rosezella says if someone wants to give back to the community to remember one specific thing.

”Do it from the heart. If you’re doing it for a reward, don’t do it. Like, if you’re doing it to say I did something for somebody else, don’t do it, because that’s not what’s needed. If you’re doing it from the heart then it doesn’t matter if you get recognition or not, because you’re doing it to help someone else,” Burrage said.

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