Yesterday the Carolina Panthers visited Uptown Shelter and provided an early Thanksgiving lunch. The food was incredible - steak, potatoes, green beans, salad, and cake! What a fantastic job the Panther's chef did preparing lunch for 200. The meal was dished up by the rookie players and some even helped with the dishes. Cheerleaders served tea and signed a lot of autographs. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and put many smiles on the faces of our men.

So, why was this so important? While the holidays are a joyful time, for some it is also a time of anxiety and melancholy. Think about it for a minute ... what spending the holidays in a shelter might be like for people experiencing homelessness? To offer, even for a little while, some time to relax, enjoy a good meal, and hang out with professional football players and cheerleaders was certainly a treat that everyone will remember for a long time. Isn't that what the holidays are, at least, partly about - creating fond memories?

Our thanks to the Carolina Panthers for spending a few hours at Uptown Shelter yesterday. Check our their experience here at http://www.panthers.com/.

Happy Thanksgiving.