SYRACUSE -- It's the volunteers who make the Rescue Mission's Thanksgiving Dinner possible. At 8:30 in the morning, 85 volunteers started loading cars with 1200 meals for the elderly or housebound. At 10:00am, another hundred volunteers started setting tables and preparing for more than 300 guests who would come to the Rescue Mission's community dinner.
John Fotti has been volunteering for 15 years. He started in the kitchen but now he and his wife Jackie help serve in the dining room. Fotti says thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same if they weren't here.
"The thing that brings me back every year is just the remembrance of needing to be closer to how other people might be living and what their situations might be," said Fotti.
The Rescue Mission prepares 500 pounds of turkey, and another 500 pounds of mashed potatoes and stuffing for the meal. For those who come to eat - it's a chance to come together with friends share a special day.
"It's a good chance to meet people and tell your success story," said Stan Boswell as he enjoyed dinner with some friends.
"It's basically like a family - you come here and share a meal with people around you," John Demand "It's pretty cool."
Thanksgiving dinner may be the Rescue Mission's highest profile meal of the year but it is just one of the hundreds of meals they serve every day. More people have been coming to the Rescue Mission for help while the economy struggles.
"There's so many people that are down on their luck on on the streets. A lot of people come out today but the need is year round," said volunteer Colleen Clancy.
