Sluggish economy brings a tighter Thanksgiving to Georgia

ATLANTA - Everlena Baugh used to volunteer for the annual Hosea Feed the Homeless and Hungry Thanksgiving Dinner. <br> <br> This year thanks to a layoff five months ago the Atlanta woman is on the other side of the serving line, hoping that the dinner will bring good cheer and the event&#39;s job placement service will help her find a new job. <br> <br> ``The economy is way down,&#39;&#39; said Baugh, who is not homeless but needs a job to keep up with her bills. She hopes to be placed as a housekeeper or as a warehouse employee. ``You&#39;ve got to do the best you can to make ends meet. You&#39;re pounding the pavement to try to find work.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> This year&#39;s sluggish economy has brought a tighter Thanksgiving to Georgia. More people particularly those who have suffered layoffs and job cuts are in need of services from community groups while the groups are having a harder time receiving donations from corporate sponsors that also have to undergo belt tightening. <br> <br> One of the Southeast&#39;s largest events for those in need Atlanta&#39;s Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless faces such a dilemma. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re serving not just the homeless but also the working poor,&#39;&#39; said Elisabeth Omilami, organizer of the event, held at Turner Field. She is the daughter of the late Rev. Hosea Williams who founded the event. ``And corporate donations are down 40 percent. We&#39;re struggling.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Hosea event serves about 20,000 people each Thanksgiving. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s a day of giving thanks,&#39;&#39; said the Rev. Derrick Williams of Salvation and Deliverance Church in Norcross, whose congregation helped with the Hosea event. ``There&#39;s nothing that we won&#39;t do for those in need.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hosea organizers also hold similar events during Christmas, Easter and Martin Luther King Day. In addition to the dinner, organizers offer other activities including job placement services, medical clinics, free hairduts and a clothing center. <br> <br> Omilami said this year her group has seen more demand for services. Last year at this time, she said the group only distributed about five food boxes to families a week. Now the demand has increased to 13 boxes a day. <br> <br> ``They have nowhere else to go, and they tell us that,&#39;&#39; Omilami said. <br> <br> The Campus View Church of Christ in Athens has seen a slight dip in volunteers this year for the annual meal they provide for Thanksgiving. Their meal helps relieve volunteers at the local soup kitchen, which serves meals 364 days a year, said Joy Sims, church organizer. <br> <br> Serving others during Thanksgiving has become the norm for Sims&#39; family. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s the only Thanksgiving my children have known; they don&#39;t know anything about a traditional meal because our parents live in other states,&#39;&#39; Sims said. ``For a lot of families, a part of their Thanksgiving tradition is to be a part of this.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> In Cataula, 15 miles north of Columbus, Becky and Mike Smith served Thanksgiving dinner to their four children and six guests, all soldiers from Fort Benning. <br> <br> ``I always cook too much anyway,&#39;&#39; Becky Smith said. <br> <br> The soldiers have just completed basic training and will begin airborne training next week. They don&#39;t know where they will be next year. ``Probably Afghanistan,&#39;&#39; one of them said. <br> <br> Other families in Georgia on Thursday looked forward to receiving family from other states, catching the latest movies and cheering relatives on at the Atlanta Marathon and Half-Marathon. <br> <br> Rickey King of Atlanta said he&#39;ll enjoy Thanksgiving because his relatives will be in town. ``We don&#39;t do that too often because we&#39;re spread around&#39;&#39; the country, he said. <br> <br> Suzanne Burke of Smyrna waited at the finish line at Turner Field for her daughter, Megan, to complete the half-marathon. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m glad to be together with family. It&#39;s her first Thanksgiving here in four years&#39;&#39; because Megan has taught in Saipan the last four years, Burke said. ``Everything is ready. All we have to do is put the turkey in the oven.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Likewise, Baugh said she is happy this Thanksgiving. <br> <br> ``In spite of it all, I&#39;ve been blessed because I&#39;m here, I&#39;m alive and breathing I can&#39;t complain,&#39;&#39; she said. ``Tomorrow I&#39;ll go back job hunting. Hopefully I&#39;ll get one quick.&#39;&#39;