ROYAL OAK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — A Michigan woman spent days preparing Thanksgiving meals for children in need. She said it’s not the food, but the sense of family they need most.
“We just want to embrace the youth here and make them part of a bigger family,” said Barbara Carter, housing specialist at Lighthouse Youth Sanctuary, a program for runaway and homeless youth.
Lighthouse provides shelter, essential services and meals. And on Thanksgiving, of course, the meal is special, made by Carter for the program’s youth.
“Some of the young people can go home to their families, but there are also those who stay behind. And we try to create an environment here in which children feel at home,” she said.
She said the meal is a labor of love as she has been cooking in this kitchen since Monday. But she said like any Thanksgiving dinner, it’s about more than what’s on the plate.
“It’s a tradition at Thanksgiving for young people to tell us what they are thankful for before we eat,” Carter said.
She said the youth returned over the years and were grateful for her and Lighthouse.
“It means I’m making a difference,” Carter said.
Kelly Vaughen
