BILLINGS — As holiday shopping is in full swing, those turkeys, the sides and pies aren't always affordable but Warrior Wishes Montana, Inc., Blessing in Backpacks and The Rollers Only Club are hoping to ease the burden of a pricey meal.
The three organizations will hand out their boxes individually, but have been working together to package them up as they prepare to hand them out on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
“There's a high demand of people in our community and all over, you know, that just, it's hard times,” said Richie Seymour, the CEO of Blessings in Backpacks.
Warrior Wishes and Blessings in Backpacks have worked together in the past during the season of giving, but this is the first year The Rollers Only Club has joined.
“We boxed up 615 meals between the three organizations," Seymour said. "We're here to make a difference.”
Blessings in Backpacks and The Rollers Only Club will be handing out over 200 boxes to anyone who needs it. They will be located at the Family Dollar on the Billings South Side and at the Albertsons in the Heights starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
“All you gotta do is just drive up and say, "Hey, can I get a box?" And we'll give you one. And you don't have to be anything. You don't have to show me anything, you know. If you need, we're just handing them out to people that are in need,” Seymour said.
For Warrior Wishes, this day is called Vetsgiving, but looks different than their eight previous years of handing out pre-cooked meals to veterans.
“We've kind of outgrown that in the fact that we were doing 800 meals last year. So, we went to the meal boxes, and those seem to be pretty good,” Miguel Gonzalez, the founder of Warrior Wishes, said.
With these boxes, filled with a full frozen turkey and all the sides, the nonprofit can offer more food to veterans. Warrior Wishes will be in Red Lodge, Laurel, Roundup, Hardin and Billings to hand out boxes to vets.
"There was a time when I was overseas, and I didn't get to enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal. And I remembered that. So when I came back to the United States, it was just something that I kept in my heart. And it was something that I felt that I could do to help the others who struggle with that every day," Gonzalez said. “I hope everybody gets full and falls asleep on the couch.”
