First of all, THANKS to everyone who helped with our Giving Tuesday goal of funding 2,500 holiday meals for disaster victims and hurting children and families. I'm thrilled to report that we met our goal, which will be a great help as we prepare for the busiest part of our holiday meal outreaches. (If you didn't have an opportunity to support Mercy Chefs on Giving Tuesday and want to help fund five, 10, 20, 40 or even 100 full holiday meals, go here to make your tax-deductible gift.)

I have another update. As you may know by now, I have been selected as one of six finalists for the 2020 Eagle Rare Life Award sponsored by the Garden & Gun website. 
The winner of the award will be decided by the results of an online poll (through this Friday) with the charity of the winner's choice (in my case, Mercy Chefs!) receiving a $50,000 donation!

When I looked at their house, I couldn't believe they survived...

We were on Grand Bahama Island meeting some of the folks who had somehow managed to escape with their lives after Hurricane Dorian had bombarded their island with 200+ MPH winds for days.

This family -- seven people in all -- had just moved into their house a year earlier. But as the storm hit, the water rose so high that they were forced into their attic where they were trapped... for three days and two nights!

Things got so desperate that they managed to contact loved ones and told them they weren't going to survive the storm.

Today is GIVING TUESDAY, and this year we've set a goal of fully sponsoring up to 2,500 of the meals for disaster victims, children and needy families that we will be serving this Christmas season and in the coming weeks.

Each Christmas, Mercy Chefs serves thousands of holiday meals with all the fixings. Our Christmas-season outreaches this year kicked off this week with multiple events near our headquarters in Virginia, including an outreach to needy school children. Later this month, we'll be in Florida and Texas for special Christmas events before we head to the Bahamas for a week-long series of events reaching out to hurricane victims on Grand Bahama Island.

Will you help us meet our Giving Tuesday goal of fully funding 2,500 of our holiday meals? Simply click here or on the image below to help sponsor Christmas meals and continue other vital Mercy Chefs outreaches:

I need your help with TWO THINGS (one today, one tomorrow)...

First, TODAY:

As I've been sharing, I have been selected as one of six finalists for the 2020 Eagle Rare Life Award sponsored by the Garden & Gun website. 
The winner of the award will be decided by the results of an online poll (through this Friday) with the charity of the winner's choice (in my case, Mercy Chefs!) receiving a $50,000 donation!

As of this morning we are still in second place -- but I need your help to make up as much of the gap as possible today with just a few days left in the contest. Here's how you can help.

I know it's "Black Friday," but this has NOTHING to do with shopping...

As I shared with you a few days ago, I have been selected as one of six finalists for the 2020 Eagle Rare Life Award sponsored by the Garden & Gun website.  
The winner of the award will be decided by the results of an online poll, with the charity of the winner's choice (in my case, Mercy Chefs!) receiving a $50,000 donation!

This is a unique opportunity for Mercy Chefs friends to help us receive a much-needed boost for this ministry. As of this morning, we are in second place and closing the gap -- but still need your help!

This past weekend, our Mercy Chefs teams served holiday meals to two communities here in the U.S. that were hardest hit by natural disasters this year.

On Saturday, Texas Managing Chef Jay Bachman (pictured here) and his team were back in Beaumont, TX where we deployed after Tropical Storm Imelda flooded much of the area in September.

It was an honor to return to the Beaumont Dream Center and the surrounding neighborhoods to serve this recovering community. Chef Bachman's team prepared and served a beautiful and delicious holiday meal -- made possible by friends like you.

We are just 48 HOURS from this weekend's two major holiday meal outreaches -- focusing on two of the communities here in the U.S. that were hardest hit by natural disasters this year.

As I shared with you a few days ago, this weekend our Mercy Chefs teams will be in both North Carolina and Texas serving hot Thanksgiving meals to families still recovering from this year's storms. In Texas, we'll be serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Beaumont Dream Center while our team also delivers meals directly to the communities hardest hit by Tropical Storm Imelda. Then we'll be in Ocracoke, North Carolina, to support this community that was one of the areas in the U.S. that was devastated by Hurricane Dorian.

I have a favor to ask...

I have been selected as one of six finalists for the 2020 Eagle Rare Life Award sponsored by the Garden & Gun website.  

The winner of the award will be decided by the results of an online poll, with the charity of the winner's choice (in my case, Mercy Chefs!) receiving a $50,000 donation!

We're headed to two U.S. communities hit hard by disaster this year to serve Thanksgiving dinner. This is a practical way we can help those still recovering. See below. --Gary

Each year during the holiday season, Mercy Chefs provides thousands of full holiday dinners to disaster victims, children and needy families. This is one of the most important times of ministry of the entire year.

Once again this year, we'll be visiting sites of recent natural disasters to provide a much-needed boost to families who are still in recovery. Between now and Christmas, we'll be in Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and the Bahamas -- all areas hit by recent disasters. 

The holidays can be among the most difficult times of the year for disaster victims and those in need. Often our teams serve the only holiday meal these families will get. Especially for the children, my personal goal is to bring a smile to their faces and let them know that good folks across the country really care for them.

I just returned home this week from California and our highly successful wildfire response. The feedback we are receiving from local officials, the Salvation Army and others is almost overwhelming. When Mercy Chefs came into one of the main shelters responding to the Kincade Fire, the entire atmosphere changed. And now Officials want Mercy Chefs more involved in any future disaster response.

We've staged one of our mobile kitchens in California for the remainder of the fire season. Also, I met with state disaster leaders at the shelter we served and they want to further partner with Mercy Chefs in the future.

Why the favor? I believe it's God's blessing on this ministry -- along with our determination to feed "body and soul" with the best possible food served with love and care. For example, one evening for dinner last week we served barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese, carrots with herbs, a fresh salad with balsamic vinaigrette,  and a piece of fresh apple crisp for dessert.