Kansas Muslims Provide Free Thanksgiving Meals to Poor

TOPEKA – The Islamic Center of Topeka in Kansas اhas teamed up with ‘Let’s Help’ organization to hand out 150 turkeys and Thanksgiving meals for needy families in the state on Saturday, WIBW reported.

“The support from the Islamic community makes all the difference for many on Thanksgiving Day,” assured Linda Kehres, executive director of Let’s Help organization.

The Islamic Center donated all of the turkeys. They also provided sides of green beans, corn, and stuffing.

This is the 5th year the two organizations have partnered to provide Thanksgiving meals to those in need.

To participate, people just needed to be a Let’s Help client by making at or below the poverty line. They also must have an oven to be able to cook the bird in.

Thanksgiving is a celebration observed on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and the second Monday of October in Canada. The celebration is about giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.

Though it started as a Christian tradition, the current form of celebration is a cultural holiday observed by people of all faiths.

“We sometimes don’t count our simple blessings and the individuals that we serve at Let’s Help are our family and the smallest things go a long way with them,” Kehres explained.

“So, this touches their heart and it takes the worry out of what they are going to do for Thanksgiving,” she said.

The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed that Muslims represent 1% of the religious makeup of adults in Kansas state.