The Friday Finish - Thanksgiving, Giving Together - 4 DAys Left 'til Giving Tuesday

November 28, 2025

Thanksgiving – Giving Together

Out here we don’t always have the finest feast, the nicest clothes, or the fattest wallets. What we have is people. The kind you can call when you’re broke down on the side of the road. The kind who’ll sit with your kids so you can finish a work shift. The kind who will put a plate in your hands when the pantry’s thin, or just listen while you get a hard memory out. That’s the wealth of this place. It isn’t just an Appalachian thing, it’s a Red Bird thing. The kind of community you feel in your bones, where Thanksgiving looks like neighbors showing up and making sure nobody goes without.

Our staff and neighbors live that standard every day, going above and beyond for the folks we can reach. It’s something we teach on purpose at Red Bird Christian School, and something we practice as families at home. Thanksgiving here looks like showing up, sharing what you have, and making sure nobody slips through the cracks. That’s how gratitude turns into action.

Monday, the good folks of Red Bird Mission put that gratitude into action. God’s Pantry sent boxes for 150 families to its warehouse in London, and Red Bird Mission sent a truck, a trailer, and a van to pick them up. Back on campus we set up a simple line and got to work, with Mountain Comprehensive Care staff standing shoulder to shoulder with Red Bird Mission staff and my Civil Air Patrol students handing meals to our people in the community. One hundred fifty families were randomly selected from households served by TEFAP, Senior Commodities, or our Crisis Food Pantry in the last ninety days. These boxes carry more than food. They carry the names of funding partners who believed in this work and put their weight behind it: Grace Fellowship, Duff Family Coal, Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, Jackson Warewashing Systems, PNC, CHI Saint Joseph London, and Hometown Bank.

This is the definition of giving in its purest form. It’s people who care about doing what needs done so folks can sit down to a table with dignity. It’s the rhythm of a small community showing up, again and again, because nobody here is meant to go it alone. Watching my cadets move with quiet confidence and respect made me proud in that deep way you feel in your soul. Watching every smile when the box was handed out reminded me why we keep showing up. This place raised me into who I am, and I’m raising my kids in it, hoping they learn what I learned — that giving keeps us together.

If you’re reading this and wondering where to put your thanks, start small. Call someone you miss, drop by a neighbor with an extra plate, or simply listen when someone needs to tell a memory aloud. Start the kind of tradition that fits your table. Give when you can, receive when you need to, and hold the ones who show up for you close. From our crew at Red Bird Mission — May your Thanksgiving be one of real company, good food, and the kind of gratitude that carries you through the cold months ahead. – Kayla Smith

Four Days Left ‘til Giving Tuesday

Leftovers are carrying families through the Thanksgiving weekend, and activities are now pointed straight towards Christmas with shoppers out today combing for discounts. Financial forecasters are anxiously waiting to report record numbers for Cyber Monday, and nonprofits across the globe are hopeful that donors will step up at year’s end to secure their vital community work on Giving Tuesday, December 2^nd.

Two priorities for Red Bird Mission for Giving Tuesday this year – Stop Hunger. Give Hope. One generous donor laid down the Giving Tuesday Challenge earlier this month to stop hunger by putting up $10,000 in a matching challenge to fund elderly meal deliveries. Donations are still needed in these last days to double the impact for stopping elderly hunger.

Scan to Stop Hunger & Give Hope

Stopping hunger is just the beginning of giving hope for families. Red Bird School alumni know that Red Bird Christian School gives hope through preparation of Christian leaders that impact the world. Alumni and friends joined to raise over $67,000 this fall to fund tuition support, but we need more to step up during this Giving Tuesday to send a message of hope to current Red Bird students.

We’re asking that you make your gift to stop hunger and give hope in this final phase of the 2025 Giving Tuesday Challenge. Make your gift online today, or mail your gift to Red Bird Mission, Inc., 70 Queendale Ctr, Beverly, KY 40913-9607, marked “GT25” and designate “Elderly Meals”, “Student Tuition” or “Mission General”.

Give to Stop Hunger & Give Hope