Durham Rescue Mission brings Easter to children
ABC11 Together highlights the strength of the human spirit, good deeds, community needs, and how our viewers can help
DURHAM (WTVD) -- The Durham Rescue Mission held its annual Easter celebration Friday with food and Easter baskets for hundreds of children.[br /][br /][url HREF="http://www.abc11.com/together" TARGET="new" REL=""][img SRC="http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wtvd/images/abctogether.jpg" ALIGN="left" /][/url][b][url HREF="https://www.durhamrescuemission.org/" TARGET="new" REL=""]CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT THE MISSION[/url][/b][br /][Ads /][br /]To pull off a party of its size takes a lot of planning. Volunteers served up 800 pounds of barbecue, thousands of hotdogs, potato salad, and hundreds of deserts.[br /][br /][url HREF="http://abc11.com/society/cooking-for-a-cause-rescue-mission-preps-for-easter-feast/1871455/" TARGET="NEW" REL=""][b]READ MORE: Cooking for a Cause: Rescue Mission preps for Easter feast[/b][/url][br /][br /]The kids were more excited for the Easter baskets filled with treats than the delicious lunch provided![br /][br /][twitter ID="852902247872835585[br /]" /][br /]"I want to get Easter eggs!" said Gavin Hester.[br /][br /]"I just want to see what's inside the Easter eggs," Jaden Hester agreed.[br /][br /]Each year the mission makes sure every child leaves with an Easter basket. Donations were slow this year. A week and a half ago, they only had 180 baskets. But this Holy Week has opened the floodgates. Donations poured in. They've gone from 180 baskets to nearly 1,700.[br /][br /]But on this Good Friday, the focus is not on the baskets but on the people - people in need of a hand up.[br /][br /]"It breaks my heart to see there's a great need, but it warms my heart so see all of the volunteers coming together to help meet that need," said Durham Rescue Mission Director Rev. Ernie Mills.[br /][Ads /][br /]Mills said nearly 400 volunteers donated their time to Friday's festivities, which included handing out close to 10,000 articles of clothing and groceries to families in need.[br /][br /][url HREF="https://www.durhamrescuemission.org/donate/" TARGET="new" REL=""][b]Click here to donate to the Durham Rescue Mission[/b][/url], which makes celebrations like this a possibility.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://bit.ly/1TfmsxL"]Report a Typo[/url][/b]
