CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — The holiday had many in the giving mood Friday, so they decided to share their gifts with those less fortunate.
While many annual holiday events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mother Theresa Shelter hosted its 11th annual Christmas meal for the homeless.
Volunteers handed out a little more than 200 meals to the grateful recipients.
“We’ve been blessed by beautiful weather,” said Warren Phipps, Executive Director for the shelter and Catholic Charities. “It was a great celebration and a great meal.”
In addition, several families and groups who took time out of their holiday celebrations to help those in need.
“These people deserve the love,” said Andres Landin, part of a group from Firehouse Fitness. “We’ve been fortunate enough, so they deserve to see people that have something that could give back. It’s just a beautiful time”
The Firehouse Fitness group was spending its third Christmas Day helping the homeless.
“It’s something super small that we take for granted as normal people,” said Landin. “It’s a beautiful thing and we’ll continue to pray for them as brothers and sisters because that’s what they are to us.”
Organizers were grateful for the extra help.
“It restores all your faith in humans and the people of Corpus Christi,” said Phipps. “What a wonderful community to come out and reach out to the homeless on this day.”
Just as they did at Thanksgiving, organizers held Friday’s meal outdoors as a precaution against COVID-19. The City of Corpus Christ allowed Mother Theresa to block off Sam Rankin in order to have proper social distancing.
Also Friday, several groups and families could be found in the area around City Hall, handing out meals and gifts to the homeless.
