Allen University Students Give Back with Baskets

Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- About 36 families will now have Thanksgiving dinners and it's thanks to the generosity of students and staff at Allen University, volunteers say.

Patricia Hampton and Regina Brown will each get an opportunity to share a Thanksgiving meal with their respective families next Thursday, due to the gifts of Allen students like Student Body President Ronnie Cole.

"I got two sons, a granddaughter, and you know my husband, so, I don't know, don't know what we would've done," Regina says. "It would have been much less on the table. It's good that they're helping out like this--the community coming together at a time like this," Patricia says.

"This is my first year being like this because we always kind of like had, because I had a job," Regina explains.  

Allen University students and staff are helping out by providing more than 30 families in similar situations with a complete Thanksgiving feast.

"Giving back is one of those things that's really important, because we play a big part in this neighborhood," Ronnie says. 

He collected four baskets worth of food with his team, and the rest was given by university departments and student groups.

"The economy is bad, and there's a lot of people that are in need, and I think most of our students do see that. That's why they were willing to contribute to this event," Ronnie explains. 

Patricia and Regina left with full baskets. "Collard greens, cornbread, turkey, stuffing, macaroni," Patricia says.

"Is that chicken? Oh that's gonna be real good. That's a medium chicken right there. We're gonna bake that. That will be real good baked chicken with stuffing," Regina says. They're also leaving with holiday cheer. "We're going to be feeling hopeful and blessed that we was able to receive this box," Regina says.

"I'm thankful that we have food on the table and I'm thankful that somebody else gave us a helping hand," Patricia says.