Buckhead volunteers delivered Christmas dinners to first responders working through the holiday. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Denise Starling, the executive director of Livable Buckhead, said "We started this during COVID, really just as an effort. You know, morale was down. Our first responders were just having such a hard time, and so we're like, ‘We really need to recognize them and thank them,’"
This year, the initiative saw 14 teams of volunteers disseminating yuletide sustenance to 43 fire and police stations across Atlanta; they were equipped with a culinary arsenal that boasted honey-baked ham, green bean casserole, and sweet pies among other delights, it is the ‘Ham Hall’," as Starling affectionately called it in an interview with FOX 5 Atlanta.
The tradition of delivering these meals began amid the pandemic's peak, it has grown more significant with each passing year. In an interview with 11Alive, volunteer Rebecca Johnson shared the sentiment behind the gesture, saying, “These first responders work hard, hard and don’t necessarily get the credit they deserve, so we do several things throughout the year at Buckhead Rotary to recognize them."
Firefighter Anare Holmes, told FOX 5 Atlanta, "I'm just thankful that I'm being thought about during this time, because sometimes you don't really want to be separated from your family during the holidays, but then you realize there's always calls, there's always people in need. And we're just appreciative that the community respects what we do,"
