Cub Scout Pack 85 delivers food to Christian Service Center in Abbeville

Five families around Vermilion Parish are serving up a full Thanksgiving meal today and the members Cub Scout Pack 85 are happy to have helped make that possible.
The scouts donated Thanksgiving baskets to the families Wednesday morning at Christian Service Center in Abbeville.
“I’m happy for people to have a meal on Thanksgiving,” 10-year-old Seth Mier said.
Deacon Randy Hyde of the Christian Service Center said he is plenty happy to see the youngsters, who range from 7 to 12 years old, taking part in the mission of helping others.
“It reminds us of why we do what we do,” Hyde said. “It’s one thing to give the food away but when we teach our young people, that’s when its starts to take on a bigger impact.”
The scouts collected food during the last two weeks. Within Pack 85 are five dens. Each of those dens gathered food, including a turkey, to prepare the basket for a family.
“We fixed a basket for each family with all of the trimmings,” said Sherry Brasseaux, one of the Pack 85 leaders. “We also added utensils and pans to make the turkey.
“Everything they need is in there.”
The kids took quickly to the project.
“They brought everything in right away,” Brasseaux said. “They were so excited.”
The project is simply a perfect example of what the Pack 85 leaders try to teach the scouts.
“We teach our boys to not always think about yourself,” Brasseaux explained. “We teach them to think about others who don’t have, not about what you have. Our word for this month was ‘Thankful.’ Be thankful for what you have.
“Be thankful for what you can give.”
The Christian Service Center operates in such a way each day of the year.
“We serve thousands of families out of here each month,” Hyde said. “The people of Vermilion Parish are great about the support they give us.”
That support is seeing its reward prior to Thanksgiving.
“So far this week, and it is only Wednesday,” Hyde said, “we have helped almost 400 families.
“That’s families.”
In October alone the center gave away nearly 20 tons of food between its pantry and cooked meals. The center relays on donations. It will hold its annual Food Net drive on Dec. 11 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Stine Lumber Company in Abbeville.
“We collected about six tons of food during the drive last year,” Hyde said. “That is great but that will get us through about half a month.”
That is why groups, like Pack 85, offering help holds such great importance.
“When we have someone like the Boy Scouts and other civic groups step in,” Hyde said, “it kind of gives us a breath.
“It almost become just a task for us.”
One that those at the center will never give up on, despite how overwhelming things may seem at times.
“We try to make sure we stay in prayer and on the right track,” Hyde said. “But it does the heart a great deal when you see the community come in like this and help.
“When it is the little ones...it’s the best feeling in the world.”
The scouts may just recapture that feeling in the coming weeks.
“The kids have already come to us and asked if we can do something like this for Christmas,” Brasseaux said.