PEARISBURG, Va. – “I just like to see that I made a difference,” said Brianna Moser, organizer of the annual Community Christmas Dinner in Giles County. “This one family told me if i didn’t hold this today we wouldn’t have ate.”
For the past seven years, Moser has held a free Christmas dinner for anyone who needs it.
“Even if I help one family, that’s enough for me to continue to do it,” Moser said.
She said this all started when she was only 11 years old.
“I took a trip to New York City when I was 11 and there was a ton of homeless people,” said Moser. “You don’t really see that around Giles County, but I knew that there was people here.”
After the trip, she started her annual free community Christmas dinner.
For the dinner, they have everything you would expect for a traditional Christmas meal.
“Turkey and ham, and then we have stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, all the sides, rolls,” Moser said.
Folks can either come in for the meal or have it delivered to them if they can’t get out.
Brianna said this year, after some kitchen issues, the dinner is being held in a different place than usual.
“We’ll still do deliveries,” said Moser. “You can still come in and eat, we’re just not having it at the community center anymore. We’re having it at the Pearisburg Fire Department.”
I then talked to two sisters who have volunteered for years.
“I think we weren’t involved the first year but after that, we started helping,” said Rylie and Haley Johnson. “We often deliver to the old orchard apartments and seeing all their faces and everything it just feels really good.”
After years of serving meals on Christmas, they all said they could not imagine any other tradition.