LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This Christmas Eve, many families are likely getting those last-minute items together and preparing for dinner on Christmas Day.
The reality, however, is not everyone is as fortunate and some people will go without any food.
Shena Maxwell and the "Gravel Ridge Hunger Helpers" are hoping to help some in the Gravel Ridge and Sherwood communities.
Maxwell and 10 volunteers with the non-profit organization served about 60 people needing food at the North Pulaski United Methodist Church.
People like Felicia South and her family who said has made a big impact on her life.
"Sometimes I run out of food stamps and they help," South said.
Maxwell said she started the "Gravel Ridge Hunger Helpers" during the onset of the pandemic.
"I decided to feed our local kiddos and it's just kind of grown since then," Maxwell said.
What started with just a few children quickly became a sanctuary filled with those in need.
"What we take for granted, family and food, there's a lot of people that just don't have it," Maxwell said.
Maxwell said the idea came from an encounter that pulled her heartstrings and that holding a Christmas Eve dinner was a first for the non-profit organization.
"It hit me around Thanksgiving," Maxwell said. "I was on an app, Next Door, and I saw a gentleman that just wanted somebody to bring him leftovers as he was living in his truck."
Maxwell said she hears those stories about those in need often, which drives her motivation to try and make a difference.
"I've been told by so many people that my kids wouldn't have eaten without you," Maxwell said.
It's that gratitude from the people who visited the North Pulaski United Methodist Church that keeps her going.
"I just hope people are reminded that there are good people out here and sometimes, it takes a village," Maxwell said.