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Community/Operation Homefront/Holiday Meals For Military Families

Holiday Meals for Military Families

December 6, 2019
Group of people wearing matching bright yellow t-shirts with "Rory's" logo, gathered indoors for a community or volunteer event with food supplies in the background.

A group of people in casual clothing gathered indoors near a wall with a red Christmas stocking hanging above. A man crouches hugging a young girl in purple leggings and white sneakers with pink stripes. A boy in a dark shirt stands behind them, and two women in casual outfits stand on either side. The setting suggests a festive or family gathering.
Operation Homefront is my fourth quarter Café Collections for a Cause organization

I think it’s safe to say that military members are some of the most deserving people, especially during the holiday season when many are separated from their families. To help thank military families for the sacrifices they make year-round, Bob’s teamed up with Operation Homefront on a number of projects this year, including their recent Holiday Meals for the Military Program.

Last year, Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for served nearly 10,000 families with everything they needed for a spectacular holiday meal, and we wanted to be part of the magic.

A Small Act of Kindness: How it All Got Started

The Holiday Meals for Military program was born from a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, New York near Fort Drum. A soldier, his wife, and infant were in line with a handful of grocery items for their Thanksgiving meal.  At the register, the family realized they were short of money and began to remove items from their cart. The person in line behind them offered to pay the $12 total for their groceries. In talking to the family, the good Samaritan learned that the soldier had just returned from deployment and was having trouble providing for his family due to some unexpected expenses. From that chance meeting, Holiday Meals for Military was born.

Helping at the Worcester Meal Packing Event

Volunteers in yellow and blue Walmart shirts sorting and packing canned goods and boxed food in a large indoor community center for a food drive event.
Volunteers help pack holiday meals for military families

The day started off early with over 30 members of Bob’s Home Office and Worcester store descended upon the Worcester Armory in Massachusetts to start assembling meal kits with other volunteer groups. The kits included everything needed for a holiday dinner, including a turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and vegetables.

The teams worked diligently, actually finishing ahead of schedule, but had plenty of fun together along the way.

A group of people in a gymnasium wearing yellow and blue shirts stand near tables filled with organized bags and supplies, likely for a community event or distribution. A basketball hoop is visible on the wall. Text on a banner reads "American Consumer Credit Counseling."
Volunteers get ready to hand out holiday meals to military familes

Next on the agenda was to wait for the families to arrive to receive their kits and help them carry them out to their cars. There were a lot of hugs, thanks, and tears to be had.

And then in the blink of an eye, Santa stopped by to visit with the families. It was really a holiday surprise!

Group of people wearing yellow Bob’s Discount Furniture shirts posing with a person dressed as Santa Claus under a banner reading "BOB’S DISCOUNT FURNITURE" with social media icons and website mybobs.com.
Santa makes an appearance!

Before we knew it the day was over and was time to head out. Great job to the Operation Homefront team who organized this event, all the volunteer teams on-site, and my Bob’s team for showing up in force. Great work and happy holidays!