By Rick Christie

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 7:49 a.m. Monday, Nov. 30, 2009

JUPITER — Friends and family of four victims of a tragic Thanksgiving Day shooting here are expected to memorialize two of them tonight.

Meanwhile, the manhunt continues for Paul Michael Merhige, who police allege, that on Thanksgiving night opened fire, killing his aunt, Raymonde Joseph, his twin sisters Carla Merhige and Lisa Knight, and 6-year-old Makayla Sitton. Two others attending the dinner also were shot.

Police said Sunday they hope a $10,000 reward will yield tips that lead them to Paul Michael Merhige. The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force offered the reward for information leading to Merhige’s arrest. The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office has issued an arrest warrant for Merhige for four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Police are looking for Merhige, 35, in Florida and Michigan.

Merhige was last seen driving a blue 2007 Toyota Camry with the Florida license plate W42-7JT.

Authorities ask anyone with information about Merhige to contact Jupiter police at (561) 746-6201.

The heartbreaking account of how a mentally troubled relative broke bread with his estranged family and then systematically began killing them has provoked an outpouring of sympathy from strangers.

It has also garnered national attention. This morning, CBS’ Early Show interviewed Jim and Muriel Sitton — parents of little Makayla — at their home about the tragedy.

Channel 5 said many people are asking where to send flowers and cards to the Sittons. It directed them to the Sittons’ church, Calvary Chapel Palm City, 1633 SW 34th St., Palm City, Fla. 34990.

At 7:30 tonight at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Miami, family and friends will gather for a memorial to the twin sisters.

Patrick Knight, Lisa’s husband, was also shot. He remains hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Family members of the victims told Jupiter police that Knight was pregnant, but a spokesman for the police said they had not independently confirmed that by Sunday. If they do, it would be up to the state attorney’s office whether to charge Merhige in the death of the unborn baby.

In 1973, Merhige’s aunt killed her husband, her two children and herself.

Suzanne Merhige, a cousin to the family, said on Sunday that words couldn’t begin to express the shock the family is going through.

“There is nothing evil in any of this family,” said Merhige, who lives in Daytona Beach. “These are good, sincere, people. They may have been suffering with Paul, but what I do know is that this is a very good family.”

In 1998 and 2006, Carla Merhige accused her brother Paul of domestic violence, although the cases were dropped.

Vanessa Archer, a co-worker and friend of Carla’s, said she never showed any signs that she felt she was in danger.

“God no,” Archer said. “She was a great person and a wonderful colleague. She gave so much to foster care children. It’s a huge loss for the community.”

In Jupiter, the Sittons returned to their home Sunday afternoon for the first time since the Thanksgiving shooting spree killed their daughter and three other relatives.

The Sittons hosted a Thanksgiving meal for 17 people at their house on Via Veracruz in Jupiter. At 10 p.m., police allege, Paul Michael Merhige opened fire.

The Sittons allowed a Channel 5 co-worker to film their daughter’s bedroom Sunday, and Jim Sitton told the station he had feared the emotions that he would face upon seeing it. Instead, with the ruffled bed neatly made and the dolls and toys straightened just so, the Bible marked where she had been reading, the room seemed to bring him peace.

“I was dreading coming in here,” he said. “But once I did, I just see all the evidence of her specialness and uniqueness.”

He held up the last photo ever taken of her, in a pretty Thanksgiving holiday frock. “She’s beautiful,” Sitton said.

Staff writers Jeff Ostrowski, Andrew Abramson and Stacey Singer contributed to this report.

Thanksgiving Sales Attract more Shoppers, Less Average Spending

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) — more consumers went shopping overthe Thanksgiving holiday weekend, yet spent less than last yearas they hunted for bargains on toys and electronics, accordingto the National Retail Federation.

Spending at stores and on Web sites from Nov. 26 to Nov. 29rose 0.5 percent to an estimated $41.2 billion from $41 billiona year earlier, the Washington-based trade group said yesterday,citing a survey conducted by polling firm BIGresearch. Thehigher turnout and lower average spending were in line withexpectations, the NRF said. The group is sticking to a forecastfor a 1 percent drop in spending this holiday season.

Price cuts on small appliances, toys and winter clotheshelped bring shoppers into chains including Macy’s inc., J.C.Penney Co. and Wal-Mart Stores inc. on so-called Cyber Mondaytoday, 96.5 million people plan to shop on the Internet to takeadvantage of limited-time offers and free shipping, according tothe NRF. that would be a 14 percent increase from 2008.

“People are going to be very disciplined,” said GerrickJohnson, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in new York. “Theyknow their budget and they have a budget.”

Thirteen percent more shoppers visited at least onedepartment store this year, the NRF said. Internet spending onBlack Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose 11 percent from ayear ago, to $595 million, ComScore inc., a Reston, Virginia-based research firm, said yesterday in a statement.

Target Corp., the second-biggest U.S. discount chain afterBentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart, for the first time thisyear advertised an online-only sale on Thanksgiving. J.C.Penney, the third-largest U.S. department-store company, startedCyber Monday specials a day earlier this year.

Amazon.com inc., based in Seattle, is the largest onlineretailer and plans a series of “lightening deals” for limitedtime periods today.

The average shopper spent $343.31 in stores and online overthe holiday weekend, less than $372.57 a year ago, the NRF said.The number of shoppers rose to 195 million from 172 million ayear earlier, according to the NRF. The group is the world’slargest trade association, according to its Web site.

“Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing toopen their wallets for a bargain,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF’spresident and chief executive officer, in a statement. “Whileretailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shoppedover Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cutout for them to keep people coming back through Christmas.”

Average spending declined as prices for flat-screentelevisions dropped and retailers offered a greater number ofitems at unprofitable prices to lure shoppers, Scott Krugman, aspokesman for the NRF, said on a conference call yesterday.

Vee Weaver, a certified nurse’s aide from Atlanta, bought aset of knives, a red shirt and a purse at Macy’s and J.C. Penneyafter she was persuaded by a friend to shop on Black Friday.

“I have a job and I’ve saved all year,” Weaver, 65, saidat The Shops at Wiregrass, an outdoor shopping mall near Tampa,Florida. The black leather purse she got was $14.97 marked downfrom $59.98. “I had to jump up and down and blink,” she said.

On Black Friday, Richfield, Minnesota-based best buy Co.,the biggest electronics chain, had bigger early-morning crowdsand more online visitors than last year, CEO Brian Dunn.

“Those are both directionally important indicators forus,” he said in a Nov. 27 Bloomberg Television interview.

Holiday sales make up a third or more of retailers’ annualprofit. The International Council of Shopping Centers, anotherindustry trade group, predicted sales at stores open at least ayear will advance 1 percent in November and December after ayear-earlier 5.8 percent decline, the worst in 40 years.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, attracted consumerswith $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computers and other specialsthat went on sale at 5 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. Thestock declined 33 cents to $54.63 in new York Stock Exchangecomposite trading on Nov. 27.

Renee McDonald, 40, started waiting at 5 a.m. outside aWalmart in Houston, hoping to purchase a television. When thestore ran out, she bought a digital camera instead.

Black Friday shopping at J.C. Penney stores was strongthroughout the U.S., the Plano, Texas-based retailer said in ane-mailed statement on Nov. 28. J.C. Penney and other retailersplan to report November sales on Dec. 3. The retailer fell $1.07to $29.57 on Nov. 27 on the new York Stock Exchange.

At the Macy’s in new York’s Herald Square, shopper trafficappeared greater than a year ago, and continued to flow in afterthe initial rush, Chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren said. Jewelryand housewares were selling “briskly,” he said. Macy’s, basedin Cincinnati, dropped 59 cents to $16.97 in Nov. 27 trading.

“Last year we were just getting rid of the inventory webought six months before,” Lundgren said. “This year we’ve hada year to think through what is the sales trend.”

To contact the reporter on this story:Lauren Coleman-Lochner in new York at llochner@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 30, 2009 00:01 EST

As the Thanksgiving holiday weekend wrapped up, San Diego Countyhad recorded fewer roadway fatalities and drunken-driving arreststhan last year, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The North County saw no roadway fatalities in the first 84 hoursof the weekend, a period that started 6 p.m. Wednesday and ended 6a.m. Sunday, CHP Officer Jesse Udovich said.

In San Diego County, one person died on the road in that period.a 46-year-old woman whose name has not been released was found deadon Highway 163 in Mission Valley early Friday, the apparent victimof a hit-and-run accident, the medical examiner’s office said.

Last year, the county saw two roadway fatalities, Udovichsaid.

San Diego County CHP officers made 94 DUI arrests in the first84 hours of the weekend, down from 108 in 2008, Udovich said. Thosenumbers do not include arrests made by other agencies, he said.

Statewide, the number of roadway fatalities was up by Sundaymorning, with 30 deaths compared to 24 last year, Udovich said.However, the number of DUI arrests by the CHP was down, with 1,314this year compared to 1,397 in 2008, he said.

CAT CONFIDENTIAL | SHOULD THE DETROIT LIONS BE REPLACED AS THE EARLY THANKSGIVING GAME?

Coach Pete DeBoer: come on? Really? this is kicking a team when they are down. this shouldn’t even be a conversation. They’re in the middle of a rough spell, but they’ll get through it. At least they won last week.

Goalie Scott Clemmensen: No. they always play on Thanksgiving, and that’s a great tradition. you have to keep tradition alive. everything is cyclical. they could be the best team in the league 10 years from now.

Defenseman Keith Ballard: Yeah, but only if it’s with the Vikings. I’m all for tradition, but I want to watch some good games. How about Packers-Vikings in the morning, then Giants-Cowboys later on? People would love that.

ASK A PANTHER | WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE TO MAKE YOUR PANTHERS DEBUT ON WEDNESDAY, AND DID BEING HERE FOR TRAINING CAMP LAST YEAR HELP YOU FIT IN MORE?

Steve MacIntyre: It was a long day, but a real good day. I got the call the night before. I wanted to get here as quick as I could. I came in, was part of the team that night and it was a lot of fun. being here before was a huge part of how easy it was. I walked in, and guys were like, “Hey, Mac, how you doing?” this is a very accepting bunch.

FLORIDA PANTHERS WEEK AHEAD

PANTHERS @ THRASHERS, MONDAY, 7 P.M. (FSN)

Player to watch: Winger Ilya Kovalchuk is one of the most exciting players in the Eastern Conference, and he’s traditionally been very good against the Panthers. Kovalchuk had four goals and two assists against the Panthers last season and has six game-winning gaols against them in his career — his most against any opponent.

Analysis: The Panthers lost 11 games in a row at Philips Arena at one point, but have won five of the past seven games played there.

Series: ATL leads 29-22-5.

AVALANCHE @ PANTHERS, WED., 7:30 P.M. (FSN)

Player to watch: Goalie Craig Anderson, the backup in Florida for parts of the past three seasons, is the new starter in Denver. he has cooled after a red-hot start, but still is stopping 92 percent of shots faced.

Analysis: Colorado has been one of the feel-good stories so far this season. The Avalance went into Thanksgiving atop the Northwest Division, leading Calgary by a point.

Series: COL leads 16-6-3.

PANTHERS @ CAPITALS, THURSDAY, 7 P.M. (FSN)

Player to watch: Alex Ovechkin didn’t play against the Panthers the last time these teams met because of an injury. he has had success against the Panthers, who have done the best of all Southeast Division teams in defending him.

Analysis: Without Ovechkin in back-to-back games against the Panthers last month, the Capitals won both, and stormed back to win at home Nov. 7 with five goals in the third period.

Series: WSH leads 41-38-9.

THRASHERS @ PANTHERS, SATURDAY, 7 P.M. (FSN)

Player to watch: Goalie Ondrej Pavelec has had a solid season for the Thrashers. he had 40 saves Wednesday in a victory against the Red Wings. In his past three games heading into Thanksgiving, Pavelec had made 122 saves.

Analysis: This will be the second time these teams play this season — all in a week. Atlanta has won five games in Sunrise over the past three seasons.

Series: ATL leads 29-22-5.

By Jo Tweedy
Last updated at 3:24 PM on 27th November 2009

A vision of green kicked off new York’s famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade yesterday when a 60-foot-tall Kermit the frog floated high above Manhattan’s streets.

Thousands of tourists and holiday revellers gatheredto watch giant inflatable versions of their favourite characters – including Dora the Explorer, Spiderman and Father Christmas – sail along between the skyscrapers.

Father Christmas flies high – perhaps having eaten one too many mince pies – at the 83rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

new additions to the parade this year included a blown up Pillsbury Doughboy. Alongside him walked marching bands, clowns, performers and a healthy sprinkling of celebrities.

The carnival took a different route in 2009 after parts of Broadway, the city’s famous theatre district, were pedestrianised earlier this year. The big Apple’s green lung, Central Park, was the starting point for the parade which followed a winding 2.65-mile route to its final destination in Herald Square.

Thousands of tourists and new Yorkers lined the streets of Manhattan to watch giant inflatable versions of their favourite cartoon characters.

Tourists lined the streets to help celebrate Thanksgiving, which marks the first harvest feast of English pilgrims in 1621. a traditional turkey dinner is served up in homes across the U.S.

Famous faces turning out in Manhattan included Cindy Lauper and Scottish actor Alan Cummings. Hollywood stars Melanie Griffith and husband Antonio Banderas were pictured filming the festivities from a new York apartment block and Michael Douglas made an appearance with his children in tow.

The ultimate traveller? Dora the Explorer strides forth through the big Apple.

The city’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg admitted Snoopy was his favourite cartoon balloon. “I’mvery loyal,” he said. “There’s an old saying – ‘You dance with thewoman that brung you,’ and Snoopy’s been with me a long time.”

Filming stars: Actor Antonio Banderas, armed with a video camera, captures the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade from a high-rise window while wife Melanie Griffith waves to the crowds.

Elsewhere in the US, Philadelphia’s famous carnival celebrated its 90thyear, while thousands of people in Detroit turned out for the city’s83rd annual parade.

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Presidential Thanksgiving messages are a routine bit of executive prose that most attentive citizens happily ignore in this moment of national gratitude. But the sky-is-falling mood that now pervades Obama commentary couldnt let this 435-word document pass without a few sniffs of disapproval.

The Gawker Web site called it an uninspiring first effort from our most literary president and expressed hope that he would spend a little more time on it next year. Politico damned it with faint analysis it was basic and brief and tread lightly to avoid controversy.

Mostly, the message reiterated familiar Obama themes of diversity, community and service. the opening line referred to Thanksgiving as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities, and Obama called attention to the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our Nation.

The holiday was also a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our Nation throughout the year.

Maybe theyll surprise me, but Im willing to bet that a right-wing talk jock near you will soon be declaring the indigenous communities reference as un-American, and the call to service as yet another shout-out to socialism. Well also hear that the document never uses the word prayer, and that its one nod to God is in a quotation from George Washington (unless you count its mention of houses of worship, and the year of Our Lord in the date).

Yes, Im afraid things have gotten so vexed for Obama that Thanksgiving itself has become thankless. As it happens, that proclamation is revealing, but not necessarily in the ways his critics are likely to suggest.

You wonder if Obama will use this brief respite for reflection to ponder how, in a year, he has been transformed from a man once seen as capable of parting raging seas to the object of a terrible hatred on the right and mild disappointment among his allies. His opponents are on the march, his friends are grumpy.

Obama might fairly repair to the comforting thought that he inherited an unparalleled combination of disasters in the economy and foreign policy, and created such a surge of hope that he was expected, unrealistically, to have put everything right by now.

He will eventually get to claim a great victory on health care.

He helped the country avoid financial catastrophe. And isnt he doing pretty well in the polls, given the afflictions of unemployment and other forms of economic carnage? this line of thinking animates the White House. Obamas aides say it reflects a side of him that many have found attractive: a cool, detached confidence in the long-term that refuses to be disturbed by passing controversies and criticisms.

Yet there is a lesson for the president in the rote quality of his Thanksgiving proclamation that is significant only because it reveals Obamas underlying problem: what the document lacked was any sense of fighting spirit, any larger purpose, any gauntlet thrown down before his foes.

Contrast it to a Thanksgiving message Franklin D. Roosevelt offered in 1934 that was unapologetic in declaring his political goals. Our sense of social justice has deepened, Roosevelt insisted. We have been given vision to make new provisions for human welfare and happiness, and in a spirit of mutual helpfulness we have cooperated to translate vision into reality. … We can truly say, what profiteth it a nation if it gain the whole world and lose its own soul.

A year later, Roosevelt was at it again. We can be grateful, he wrote, that selfish purpose of personal gain, at our neighbors loss, less strongly asserts itself.

Roosevelt was no less pragmatic than Obama. He, too, was attacked demagogically as a socialist, and was equally loathed by his adversaries.

Yet Roosevelt was a happy warrior, a phrase he used about Al Smith that actually described FDR himself. He relished taking the fight to his enemies, once boasting: I welcome their hatred.

Obama will have more to be grateful for next Thanksgiving if he accepts that his foes intend to fight him for the next three years.

He needs to discover the joy that FDR took in fighting back, even in official documents that normally pass unnoticed.

E.J. Dionne Jr. is a columnist for the Washington Post. E-mail him atejdionne@washpost.com.

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Thanksgiving Day in the US is normally a time for forgiving and forgetting and Obama, shining beacon of forgiveness that he is, has pardoned Turkey!

This news spread round the world like wildfire and Istanbul reacted swiftly to the news.

Turkey’s President sent an urgent message to the States asking “what the fuck have we done now, murdered Kurds, tried to enter the ECC, sent more of our countrymen to Germany to annoy the NSPD, extreme right?”

The whole thing exploded into a diplomatic crisis with Turkey asking the US why have they been pardoned!

Obviously on Thanksgiving Day in the US nobody works including Obama so a special envoy was sent disturbing Obama and his family enjoying their “Turkey” dinner.

“What the f**k is it now” Obama screamed down the corridors of the White House, “a man can’t even eat his Turkey on Thanksgiving day in peace!”

After being informed about the crisis with the Turks, he realised what the problem was, Obama had pardoned a real TURKEY and the TURKEY is now living the rest of his life in Disneyland.

Obama promptly informed the Turkish President about the slight misunderstanding and wished him a happy Thanksgiving Day, told him to keep his filthy Turkish hands off of the Kurds and don’t upset my Deutsche friends!

Make Jaggedone’s day – rate this story with the stars, they’re just down there!

By Meena Kar
Denver, Nov. 27, (THAINDIAN NEWS) this year some of the thrilling matches were scheduled on the Thanksgiving Day. the NFL match between Denver Broncos and New York Giants, which was scheduled on Thanksgiving Day on the home ground of the Denver Broncos team witnessed Denver Broncos emerging as the winner. Denver Broncos team displayed a good form in this match against the Giants and did not allow the Giants to make much moves in the match. Broncos who had taken the control of the match from an early stage became victorious when the final score of the match was declared 26-6.

Denver Broncos team has displayed an attacking spirit throughout the game and restricted the New York Giants to take a lead in the game. They have dominated the game and scored twenty six points without much difficulty. Giants who were under pressure throughout the match tried to break the defense of the Broncos but failed and could manage a score of only six points in reply to Broncos’ twenty six.

Though the whole team of Denver Broncos played well in the match against New York Giants, Brian Dawkins’ performance deserves special mention. this safety player of Broncos has completely reformed the defensive line up of the team and strengthened it to resist the attacks of the Giants. As the defense was strong, the offense line up of the team could make attack on the Giants and contribute more points in favor of their team. Matt Prater and Kyle Orton also played well for the Broncos, which increased pressure on the Giants and they failed to stand against Broncos in the game.

President Barack Obama’s Thanksgiving Day proclamation, as released by the White House:

What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving. this day’s roots are intertwined with those of our nation, and its history traces the American narrative.

Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed “by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God,” and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured nation in the midst of civil war. we also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.

As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. while we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.

As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. this is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our nation throughout the year. in doing so, we pay tribute to our country’s men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all. Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day.

Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather, with gratitude for all we have received in the past year, to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own and to share our bounty with others.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of November, in the year of our Lord 2009, and of the independence of the United States of America the 234th (year).

Churches and charities throughout the country are preparing for what they expect to be their biggest service of free Thanksgiving meals.

• (Photo: AP Images / Kathy Willens) This Nov. 17, 2009 photo shows Josh Satterthwaite, left, operations manager at Great Performances and Arielle Solow, right, sampling a meal as they speak with celebrity chef Marc Spooner at a sampling of the 10,000 Thanksgiving dinners they plan to serve on behalf of the Salvation Army on Thanksgiving Day in new York. Great Performances, one of new York’s premier catering companies, will prepare and serve 10,000 dinners at 10 community centers in new York City, Westchester and Long Island on Thanksgiving Day. Three hundred Goldman Sachs employees have volunteered for the holiday feast and will be taking out the garbage.

With more families struggling to put food on the table and the unemployment rate high, many nonprofits are anticipating larger crowds for their turkey giveaways and dinners on Thursday.

The Salvation Army Greater new York Division announced that it will expand its annual Thanksgiving Dinner this year to feed more than 10,000 hungry new Yorkers across the boroughs, Long Island and Westchester, making it one of the largest holiday dinners in the division’s 129-year history. last year the group served 800 meals.

“As one of new York’s major social services provides, we have witnessed the human toll of the recession firsthand,” said Lt. Colonel Guy D. Klemanski, Divisional Commander in a statement. “We are committed to continuing the Salvation Army’s tradition of stepping up when times are tough and know that new Yorkers will once again come together to help fellow new Yorkers.”

The local nonprofit will serve 5,000 pounds of turkey along with other side dishes at 10 centers. Great Performances, one of new York’s premier catering companies, will prepare and serve the food. Chef Marc Spooner, champion of the Food Network’s “Chopped,” will oversee. plus, 300 employees of Wall Street’s Goldman Sachs Group Inc., will be volunteering.

The new York charity joins other Salvation Army divisions in cities such as Orlando that are also stepping up their services to feed more mouths this year.

The holiday season comes as a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that food insecurity is at an all-time high. In 2008, 17 million households, or 14.6 percent, were food insecure and families had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year. that marks a significant increase from 13 million households the year before.

An increasing number of children in the United States are also suffering. nearly one in four children was classified as not having enough food in 2008.

To meet the growing need, some nonprofits have already begun serving holiday meals. Over the weekend Union Rescue Mission fried up turkeys on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, offering full Thanksgiving meals to over 3,000 people as well as activities for children.

Here’s Life Inner City, the compassionate urban ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, over the weekend packed thousands of “Boxes of Love” that are filled with ingredients for a full holiday meal for a family of six as well as some Christian materials, including Scriptures and a clear Gospel presentation. the boxes are being distributed to families in 13 cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Seattle.

“In these tough economic times, even a small donation can have a big impact on someone’s life,” said Ted Gandy, national director of Here’s Life Inner City, in a statement. “It’s amazing the hope that a simple box of food can bring to a poverty-stricken family-especially during the holidays.”