During the holiday season, some things are universal. Turkey and football give way to tinsel and trees. Traditions fuel merry times and holiday cheer.
But, especially as we still sort through the shockwaves of the past two years, the holiday experience from person to person can vary greatly. Certainly, some of us still gather with family and friends for large, abundant meals, overflowing with all of the classic dishes known for the season. Definitely, some still have trees shading piles of new toys, trinkets, and stockings stuffed with treats.
For others, though, the holidays can look very different. Some are unable to easily leave their homes, bound there by sickness or age. Others do not have a large family or friends who can gather with them during the holidays. Some cannot travel to be near their home or their family for the time of togetherness. Still, others do not have the financial means to afford even the simplest traditions that the holidays call for.
In a time that is meant to be bright with warmth and cheer, some suffer from the darkness that comes with loneliness, isolation, and need.
But, when things seem at their darkest, sometimes a candle, lit by the flames of charity, is enough to provide the light that is so needed.
For a very long time, two Paducah organizations have been among the many that annually light the candles that make the holidays brighter for those who need it the most. And, though their programs may be very different, they share one core principle:
They do a huge amount of good, but they couldn’t do any of it without you!
For Martha’s Vineyard, feeding more than 4,000 people a traditional Thanksgiving feast might seem like something that could cause anxiety, but for the organization’s founder Martha Bell, she is never concerned. She says she never has to be.
“We’ve been doing the Thanksgiving meal for 32 years and so many people have been involved,” she says. “It just all comes together. You never have to worry because the people of Paducah have always been so supportive of our Thanksgiving meal.”
Candace Melloy, executive director of Family Service Society, has been at the helm of the efforts of the group’s Santa for a Senior program for six years of the program’s decade-long life. Each year, providing Christmas for more than 450 households of elderly and disabled adults shows her the true compassion of our town.
“Every year our need is greater than the year before, and I always wonder if we will be able to do all that we need to do, and every year I am pleasantly surprised that we are able to meet the need even better than before,” she says.
“Most people already spend so much money on Christmas for their own families, for them to take the time to volunteer or donate to us just means the world.”
For Candace and the Santa for a Senior Program, that need amounts to support from countless donors, both individuals and local businesses, that provide money or items that give seniors and disabled adults a literal full Christmas. The Santa for a Senior program gives each participating senior, disabled adult, or senior family a full Christmas meal with ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. But, beyond the Christmas meal, seniors are gifted with necessary items like cleaning products and personal care products. And to add even more merry, Family Service Society makes sure that they all receive some “nice-to-have” food items like cake mixes and nice coffee or tea mixes.
For most recipients, that package alone would be a tremendous blessing. But program volunteers and administrators make sure that there are “gifts” even on top of those. Each package will traditionally include a puzzle, adult coloring book, scarf, hat/gloves and even something that Candace says feels like a true gift, like a mug with candies.
“Most of the seniors that we talk to tell us that this is the only gift they receive each year, and it means so much to them,” she says. “Especially the things that are more of the luxury items, things that they don’t get all the time or that they wouldn’t buy for themselves.”
Candace says that the need for her program is growing and it’s a need that is sometimes overlooked.
“Most of the time people think of children at Christmas and while that’s obviously a need, we have lots of families and children who are in need in our community, we have a lot of senior citizens or disabled adults that don’t have family support or the family lives out of town or their family is also low income and can’t help them,” she says.
Candace and her staff continually hear about the impact that their program has on recipients.
“Last year we had a senior who participated and about two days later his daughter called us from out of state. She was in tears saying how much it meant to them that we helped her father,” she says. “His daughter said that she wasn’t able to do anything for him and that he called her and was just so impressed and humbled by what we had done.”
“He was so touched that someone wanted to help him.”
Many of the same volunteers and donors that work to ensure that the Family Service Society’s Santa for a Senior program is successful each year also support the Martha’s Vineyard annual Thanksgiving meal, where Martha says no one is turned away, no matter how large the crowd gathers. In fact, the crew of more than 50 volunteers ensures that even if you cannot make it to the gathering yourself, someone can still bring Thanksgiving to you. They can be found running a carry-out service throughout the day as well.
Martha even prides herself on gathering up the local college students who cannot travel home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We try to step in and do what their mom might do and give them a Thanksgiving meal,” she says.
Over the years, Martha’s Vineyard has the group feeding nearly 5,000 people. But don’t ask Martha herself to take account of the numbers.
“My thing was always anyone who comes in that needs a meal; we just make sure they get one,” she says. “Over the years, someone started counting, but numbers don’t mean anything to me. Just as long as we get everyone fed, that’s all I’m really interested in.”
“It isn’t about the number. It’s about how we can communicate with each other that if you are not able to do Thanksgiving, how can we make you feel like you are part of our family, and we are part of yours?”
Sharing the light for those who are in the dark is what these charities, and countless others like them in Paducah, do best all year long. But, especially during the holidays, it’s important for those who experience this darkness to know that they are special. And perhaps Martha sums it up best when she says that she wants her organization’s meal to be an event that shares evenly each year.
“This dinner shows our fellow man that you are as important as we are,” she says.
“It doesn’t matter where you are from or what you do or what you have or what you don’t have; we are all equal.”
Remember, neither the Family Service Society nor Martha’s Vineyard could do their Thanksgiving Meal or Santa for a Senior Program without the support and help from the community and members just like you!
If you’d like to get involved by donating money, goods, or your time, please reach out to:
Paducah Family Service Society
270-443-4838
Or:
Martha’s Vineyard
270-575-0021
** For only $65, you can adopt a Senior in the Santa for a Senior Program, providing everything they need for a full Christmas package.
** Mark your calendar for Martha’s Vineyard Annual Thanksgiving Dinner on November 25, 2021. Please reach out to Martha if you know of someone who can provide entertainment during the annual Thanksgiving meal.
