Thanksgiving comes early for Sonoma County's needy

<p>Katrina Lujan spent the morning Wednesday as she often does, volunteering at Face to Face, a Santa Rosa non-profit helping people infected with HIV.</p><p>But as a single mom and full-time student, Lujan is a Good Samaritan in need of a helping hand herself, especially during the holidays. Her one-room apartment is so tiny she could hardly cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal even if she could afford one.</p><p>And so Lujan and her 7-year-old daughter were among the thousands who attended Redwood Gospel Mission's Great Thanksgiving Banquet on Wednesday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. </p><p>“It's important to us because we can actually have a Thanksgiving dinner I can't provide,” Lujan said.</p><p>In addition to hot holiday meals, the banquet offered free frozen turkeys, haircuts, flu shots, coats, and other donations to 1,250 Sonoma County families and others who came from area homeless shelters.</p><p>Guests, who registered ahead of time, had to attend a 45-minute chapel service to take part in the annual event. Despite the throngs of needy families, the gathering had an upbeat feel with kids playing in a bouncy house and getting their faces painted.</p><p>Jennifer Rodriguez, 19, pushing a stroller with her 6-month-old son, said she looks forward to the warmth of the event each year and to extras like free family photos.</p><p>But it's the essentials like the donated food that are most important, allowing her extended family to provide the kind of Thanksgivings kids expect.</p><p>“It's really difficult to try to feed that many people on a very low budget,” she said. “This allows for people who don't make a lot of of money to enjoy the holiday like everybody else does.”</p><p>About 600 volunteers helped move the event along, including Sammie Williams, 81, a retired hair stylist who was cutting hair, and Debbie Holmes, 52, who was sweeping up the lost locks.</p><p>Holmes said she brought two young grandchildren to help them see not everybody has what they have. She said volunteering provides its own reward.</p><p>“It's just a blessing to give,” she said.</p><p>Jeff Gilman, executive Redwood Gospel Mission, said it took about a week longer for all the spots to be claimed at this year's banquet compared to last year. He wasn't sure if that indicated an improvement in the economy. Regardless he felt thankful to be able to help.</p><p>“It's a wonderful day,” he said.</p>