ROGERS -- Lester Webb took a bite of pumpkin pie as he talked positively about his future during a Thanksgiving-style dinner at the Samaritan Community Center on Tuesday.
"By the end of this year I will have a house," Webb, 61, said.
An acid burn in one eye in the 1970s and the development of glaucoma in the early 2000s has left Webb unable to work. He said he is living in a shed on property he owns in Rogers.
Rogers Trinity Baptist Church is building him a house on his property, and Webb said things are finally starting to work out for him.
Webb said he attends meals at the Rogers Samaritan Community Center several times a week. He also attends church at the center.
The center's early Thanksgiving meal is about more than just food, Webb said.
"I wanted to come have something nice to eat and visit with friends," Webb said.
About 1,000 people were expected to attend meals at Samaritan centers in Rogers and Springdale on Tuesday, said Shannon Green, in-kind coordinator for the Samaritan Community Center. She said the meals include Thanksgiving staples such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and corn.
"It is free to the public and open to anyone and everyone," Green said. "The holidays are hard. We just want to help as many families as we can through this struggle."
J.D. Tygart, 34, sat with friends while eating his meal.
"It is a blessing that they do this," he said.
Most of Tygart's meals are at shelters. He said he has been homeless for three months.
Bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder make it hard to keep a full-time job, Tygart said. He works when part-time jobs are available, but he said he hasn't been able to recently.
Sean Safreed of Rogers was one of 100 volunteers who helped at the Rogers and Springdale meals.
"It is nice to give back," he said. "Especially with all the negative you hear about at the moment."
Safreed, a First Western Bank employee, said he has been volunteering at the shelter for about three years. He helped keep the pumpkin pie stocked while volunteering Tuesday.
"We are all brothers and sisters in Christ," Safreed said. "I am just here to lend a helping hand."
Among goods donated by the Wal-Mart Operations Special Projects and Fixtures Divisions were about 40 turkeys, 30 10-pound cans of corn, poultry gravy, four bags of powdered milk, two packs of aluminum trays, 30 bags of dressing, 20 boxes of mashed potatoes and 50 pumpkin pies for the meal, according to a news release.
Green said bags of food for the guests also were donated. The bags included items to make a Thanksgiving meal at home including stuffing and canned goods, she said.
Metro on 11/25/2015