The men’s group at Mars Hill Baptist Church in Hillsborough is November’s Partner of the Month. For the last two years, this group of guys has been preparing meals for the veterans at CASA’s Denson Apartments in Durham several times a year. The men bring the meal out to the apartment community, serve the veterans, and share a meal. The veterans love it.
Forrest Orr, the project’s organizer, explained how this came to be one of our favorite events every couple of months: “I was talking with [CASA Board Member] Rob Griffin one day and CASA came up. The fact that we had these veterans living so close sparked the idea to help. I ran it by the men’s group at Mars Hill, and we all agreed that this would be a wonderful opportunity for us to help out in the community just right down the road. The rest is history. Most of us in the group are not veterans, but I feel like I can speak for all of us when I say that the residents at Denson deserve the utmost in respect for all they have been through. They have sacrificed for us, so it’s the least we can do to provide them with a good meal every now and then.”
On Sunday, the group appeared with a Thanskgiving spread to celebrate Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving. Nearly every veteran in the community came by to eat, tell stories, and thank the group for the meal. And, thanks to Rob Gray with Orange County Outdoors Ministry, the tenants took home some frozen venison to fill up their freezers for the winter.
CASA has a lot of wonderful supporters and volunteers to celebrate. This group is extra special because of the faithful, unassuming, and nonjudgmental way they show up for our tenants with a simple meal and ongoing friendship. We’re so grateful!
