MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Today is all about giving and showing thanks.
A local organization is making sure people aren’t alone or without a full belly this Thanksgiving.

“A lot of the families that we come into contact with, we’re the only people they’ll see or we’re the only family they have,” Rescue Mission CEO Pat Chastain said.

The Rescue Mission is cooking up ways to spread some holiday cheer this Thanksgiving.

“We’ll have 750 meals that go out of house and we’ll probably feed anywhere from 300 to 500 in-house,” he said.

It’s the rescue mission’s Thanksgiving Meal event. It’s the time of year where they try to feed as many, that are in need, as they can.

“It brings the community together, as a whole. It’s not just about a meal, it’s about people coming together for a cause,” Chastain said.

The Rescue Mission wants to let people coming through the doors know that they love and care about them.

“They meet the person, whoever they’re delivering the meal to, so there’s a relationship so that’s our family and the rest of our family will come here and go line up out front and we’ll bring them in, sit them down in the chapel, and we have a service on what we’re thankful for,” he said.

For volunteers like Kendrick Thomas, giving back is his secret ingredient to his holidays.

“Time to time we should take a break from whatever we’re doing to give back to those in need and those less fortunate than I,” Thomas said.

Those who dined at the Rescue Mission say kindness can go a long way.

“It means everything and instead of feeling hopeless and lonely today, like I thought I was going to, I feel happy,” Angela Owens, who enjoyed at plate at the Rescue Mission, said.

More than 250 volunteers helped deliver and serve food today.  The Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia says most of the food came from donations from the community.