Wayside works to feed and clothe thousands over Christmas

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Christmas Day is the one of the busiest for Hotel Louisville as Wayside Christian Mission feeds thousands of people who live inside of shelters.

The annual extravaganza is a large operation that continues to make a big difference in the lives of thousands of people. The nonprofit feeds more than 3,000 people, including children on Christmas Day.

“We try to make it a fun day and as festive as possible and a day that our folks can take some good memories with them, even though they may be in a homeless shelter for Christmas,” Chief Operating Officer of Wayside Christian Mission Nina Moseley said. “We do everything we can to give them some good memories and normalcy.”

Along with food, everyday items like toiletries and clothes are given, but most importantly, Wayside aims to give hope.

“It really does something to your heart when you can see those that were helped reaching back to help the next one. We love to do that, and we love to see our people be successful,” Moseley said.

None of this would be possible without countless volunteers, which are in short supply this year. The organization said volunteerism is down and attributes that to the pandemic.

“We have been extremely low and that’s due to COVID. It’s just amazing that we can pull off this massive dinner with the small volunteers we have,” Moseley said.

Wayside is looking not only for people to make an impact on Christmas Day, but also year-round.

“We use those volunteers everywhere not only prepping, serving, and cleaning up the food service,” Moseley said. “We use them for decorating and for special projects.”

For more information on how to volunteer, click here.

Copyright 2021 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.