HAMPTON, Va. — A Hampton church spent Sunday helping make the Thanksgiving holiday a little brighter for families across the community.
Greater Emmanuel Temple hosted its annual Thanksgiving giveaway, providing more than 500 turkeys and full meal baskets to households throughout the city. Bishop Michael Golden Jr., who leads the church and serves as chairman and CEO of the Get in Power Community Development Corporation, said the tradition has been going strong for more than a decade.
“For 13 years we’ve met the need,” Golden said. “We started off with 100, we moved to 200 or 300, and now we’re at over 500. This is really a challenging time, and we cannot ignore it. We are called as the church to meet people where they are.”
Golden said volunteers came from across Hampton Roads — including fraternities, sororities, universities, and members of the congregation. “There are dozens of volunteers that have come even from the sheriff’s department, even from the police department,” he said. “It’s an authentic collaboration of love as we find people where they are and meet them, let them know they can have Thanksgiving with joy because someone is concerned about them no matter their context or condition.”
According to Golden, the organization purchases most of the food items through fundraising and community support. “The turkeys were not donated. They were purchased,” he said. “Our budget expands as persons see what we do and help us meet that need.”
He said donations continue to come in year-round. “As I was standing here just moments ago, someone walked up and said, ‘I didn’t come for the food. I came because we believe in what you do,’ and brought a contribution so that we can continue.”
The church is also preparing for its annual Christmas giveaway, set for December 14 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. Golden said families can register online. “More than 1,000 gifts, backpacks, bicycles, game systems — PlayStation, Xbox systems — we give away free of charge,” he said. “You should see the smiles on a lot of the young people’s faces.”
Golden said events like these highlight the importance of unity. “In challenging times like this, it’s critical that the community unites,” he said. “There’s so much that divides us right now, but there’s so much more that pulls us together. We’ve got to pull together to meet the needs of our community.”
