This year has changed me. The sheer devastation. The people I’ve met. The lives impacted by a hot meal provided by friends like you. I want to do more. I need your help. Please see below. -Gary

As we come to the end of this year, I have been reflecting on all that we’ve seen...

From tornadoes in Alabama to wildfires in California, our teams have literally been coast-to-coast responding to disasters, providing hot meals to those in need.

It became apparent that thousands were still suffering greatly on the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, so we went back in March. And then we stayed, all summer and through the fall, serving tens of thousands of meals.

After Hurricane Dorian all but wiped out two entire islands in the Bahamas, we immediately responded. The devastation there was as bad as I have ever seen. Entire communities were leveled! More than 70,000 meals later, Mercy Chefs has played a key role in that nation’s recovery, and now we’re gearing up to greatly expand our efforts next year.

The hardest thing about returning during the holidays to a community hit hard by a tornado or hurricane is seeing the empty stares and hollow eyes.

During what should be a time of great joy, people whose lives have been turned upside down by a disaster are still very much living the disaster even weeks, months, and in some cases years after a storm hits.

+ + Smiles are returning...

This week in Florida as we served hot meals to families who are still recovering from Hurricane Michael, I noticed fewer of those empty stares than one year ago. We're starting to see some life come back into the folks here. Slowly, hope is being restored.

I need your help today or this weekend if possible. Our team is still pressing forward with our holiday outreaches (another takes place today in Dallas and this weekend on the Florida Panhandle). But as of this morning, we are still SHORT of our goal for our Year-End Matching Challenge.

Can you help? Your support right now will help us provide hot Christmas dinners while we get ready for expanding outreaches in the coming weeks. Go here to make your best possible tax-deductible gift, and see below for more details.

God bless!

Gary LeBlanc

P.S. Remember... every dollar you give will be DOUBLED in impact by this special Year-End Matching Challenge until we reach the goal. A $30 gift doubles to $60; $50 has the impact of $100; $100 becomes $200 in impact. Go here to help:

Click here for more information from our earlier update.

This past weekend, I met another child who stole my heart...

Our Mercy Chefs team was in Panama City to serve the dear folks still struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. Thanks to your faithful partnership, we were able to provide a beautiful Christmas dinner and bring the joy of the season to these children and their families. I served as “Santa Chef” as we gave gifts to all the children and gift cards to their parents.

It was an amazing time. There were tears of thankfulness because many of these families likely were not going to be able to have much of a celebration this Christmas.

Tomorrow, we're serving hot holiday meals to disaster victims in Florida who still need our help! This may be the only holiday meal they have this Christmas season. We can use your help. Go here to donate, and see below.  --Gary

It's always humbling when we hear stories like this.

This Thanksgiving, we returned to Beaumont, Texas -- a community that was hit hard by flooding this fall. Many families were forced from their homes and into shelters, and Mercy Chefs was there to provide hot meals. Many of those same folks who had sought relief in shelters and had received Mercy Chefs meals came back for our Thanksgiving outreach.

The reality is, when a community faces a disaster, it can take months and even years to recover. That's precisely the case for a husband and wife who told the local news that "without the food that [Mercy Chefs] provided us today, we probably wouldn’t have had a Thanksgiving dinner."

We are heading into the busiest two weeks of our Christmas meal outreach -- a time when Mercy Chefs wlll provide thousands of hot meals to disaster victims and needy children and families.

This weekend, we'll be in Panama City for a Holiday Celebration meal at our Beacon Of Hope kitchen that has served as our base of operations since early summer. As always, it's the children who steal my heart. I met this little girl last year at one of our post-disaster Christmas events.
 Just to put a smile on a child's face during the Christmas season makes it all worthwhile!

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.