Meridian Little Theater got into the holiday spirit by giving back to those in need. The theater hosted a food drive for Love’s Kitchen during its show called “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“If patrons brought five canned goods, or five jellies, or five breakfast items, they received $5 off their ticket. But people actually brought more than we asked them to bring. We were amazed and thrilled at how generous our patrons were,” said Dennis Gleason, who directed the play.
The show was nearly sold out for all six performances… and many patrons participated in the food
drive, which mirrored an important theme of the play.
“It’s a Wonderful Life is about a gentleman who feels he really doesn’t make an impact in other people’s lives, and he discovers how important he is. That’s sort of what these people did by donating food. They discovered how important they could be by giving some food to somebody who need something in a time of crisis in their own life. So, it’s a wonderful life is a wonderful way to demonstrate that we’re all angels,” said Gleason.
Donations like this are very important to Love’s kitchen, which serves 5,000 meals a month, serving breakfast and lunch 6 days a week.
“We wouldn’t survive without the community’s help. Sometimes I watch shows on TV, especially during the holidays, where they have all these places who need. We don’t. This community comes through. Whatever we need, this community finds a way to get it to us. I’m not the soup kitchen that opens the doors and nobody’s there to help. I’m the one saying, ‘I don’t need any help today. Thank you so much for coming.’ This community is wonderful. That’s a great word. They’re making the lives of so many hungry people a lot more wonderful because they’re not hungry,” said
Fannie Johnson, executive director of the kitchen.
If you would like to make a donation to Love’s Kitchen, the kitchen is asking for breakfast items.
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