Weezie Beckley – Thank you for sending those wonderful pictures. Could you share with me more information about SaveRVARestaurants?
Diahann Whittington – Director of Saint James’s Children Center – We were connected through Toby Desch, whose friend Brock Saunders was trying to help local restaurants and families in need at the same time. Nicci Porter is my connection with SaveRVARestaurants. She contacts me when she has a restaurant that are willing to prepare the food and I pick it up. This is our second pick up with them. The Children’s Center purchased additional meals from Perly’s so that we could also offer meals to our staff as a conclusion to teacher appreciation week. The first restaurant we were paired with was Lehja. I picked up those meals from the Short Pump location. Winnie and I delivered those to our families in all of the surrounding counties.
Weezie Beckley – Are you given a list of restaurants to choose from?
Diahann Whittington – No, we are not given a choice of restaurants.
Weezie Beckley – How many lunches did Perly’s provide? How many folks did you have signed up to receive the lunches?
Diahann Whittington – Perly’s provided us with 80 lunches and we purchased an additional 20. We have 24 families sign up to receive meals.
Weezie Beckley – How has this opportunity made you feel?
Diahann Whittington – Our parents allow us to play a major role in the lives of their children and I don’t take that lightly. They have had so many challenges over these past weeks that it is such a gift to my soul when we are able to give to them. There is a need and we are doing our best to be good stewards of the blessings that come our way through the kindness of others. I am really happy that I had the opportunity see smilies on the parents faces. I love being in service to their children and I cannot say enough how wonderful it was to have such good people by your side helping make the day a little brighter for a parent. As a mom, I know that sometimes a decision like dinner can be major depending on how my day has gone. I am grateful to Perly’s that today, with their gift, we gave our families one less thing to worry about.
Weezie Beckley – What was your experience like working with Perly’s?
Diahann Whittington – Perly’s was awesome to work with. In the future when we are ordering lunches, for staff trainings, they will be at the top of our list.
*St. James’s Children Center begun as an outreach of St. James’s Episcopal Church. Each year the Children’s Center receives gifts, including classroom space and utilities, from St. James’s Church.
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