Every year, Good Shepherd supports Coatesville’s Operation Thanksgiving/Christmas efforts by supplying both food and volunteers.
Operation Thanksgiving/Christmas is a non profit, completely independent volunteer organization that was founded in 1988. Support comes from a coalition of the Coatesville area Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches, the Salvation Army, the Coatesville Area School District, the Rotary and Lions service clubs and the Coatesville Emergency Food Cupboard.
The goal of the Operation Thanksgiving/Christmas organization is to provide complete holiday meals (including a turkey, side dishes, vegetables, bread, margarine and cookies) to families who register with us. Registration takes place in October. Applicants are asked only to provide proof of residence and age for each family member (birth certificates for children state ID for adults) in the household.
Churches, including Good Shepherd, and schools donate most of the non perishable food items included in the baskets and used to make the Sr. Citizen meals. The poultry and remaining items needed are purchased locally with money donated by individuals and organizations.
Stewart Huston Charitable Trust has assisted us in recent years and without their financial help we would have been unable to provide all that we have.
The Coatesville Emergency Food Cupboard serves as the collection point, and frequently the packing and distribution point of the family meals.
We have the help of members from Olivet Methodist Church, who use the Salvation Army kitchen, to prepare the cooked meals for individuals. The Rotary and Lions clubs help deliver the pre-cooked meals to approximately 250 individuals, senior citizens and shut-ins in local apartments.
We have always received generous support from Good Shepherd. The stuffing that you give us is a central part of the meal we provide. Without your help our goal would be much harder to reach each year