Miracle Hill – Turkey Fry Event
Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Stacie Williams has been volunteering with Miracle Hill for about 10 years. Stacie has volunteered with Kids Ninja Challenge, Turkey Fry, Miracle Hill Annual Banquet and donations.
Stacie first became familiar with Miracle Hill Spartanburg Rescue Mission years ago and began learning more about what Miracle Hill does for people. “I think one of the things that really struck me was not just reaching out to the homeless but reaching out to those that have had addiction and trying to get them into a program and not just a program of recovery but a program of recovery and then giving back and making their lives better along with others lives.”
When asked what she likes most about volunteering at Miracle Hill, Stacie states, “The people. Getting to meet people, not just the people that work at Miracle Hill but other people who are volunteering, certainly those who have come through MH’s programs as well and hearing their stories. It’s a place where it doesn’t matter what your background is. Everybody is coming together for one common goal. And just hearing stories and getting to meet people and understand what brought them to volunteer at Miracle Hill and getting to have conversations with people.”
Over the years, Stacie has volunteered at the Separation Station, Breaking Station, Cooling Station, Clean Up, and others. Stacie stated, “Every one of those stations brings a different opportunity to have conversation with people. And really, it doesn’t matter what area you’re volunteering in, I know that every single one of those areas provides a meal for someone in need. I love the fact that we’re giving it back to the Miracle Hill community itself, we’re giving it out to our foster families. And no matter if you’re cleaning dishes, cleaning pots or you’re frying a turkey – every one of those is a critical volunteer opportunity that allows a family or a person a meal for Thanksgiving, and so they’re all critical.”
“By volunteering, you get to meet different people, but you also get to see how your efforts can impact the overall process. It takes a village to do this community event and so every person is needed for every type of job. And if you can’t volunteer, there’s an Amazon wish list. There are things that people can donate. There’s turkey drop offs so you can buy a couple turkeys and bring those. So, every piece of the volunteer effort is needed in order to make this work.”
What has been interesting and eye opening too over the years in volunteering is I don’t know that everyone really understands what the Turkey Fry provides to the community. Not only are turkeys being fried, but there are side dishes being prepared. There are trucks that come in and we load those trucks to go out to various locations to help feed the community, including the Miracle Hill foster families. These meals go out to Spartanburg and Greenville and then ancillary areas outside of just what Miracle Hill provides within the housing communities.”
“It's an incredible operation - just the prep and set up the day before and hundreds of fryers that have to be set out. There’s an entire container out there. There’s the cooling table – just think about that. I think one of the neatest things I’ve seen is the build of this cooling station and table and how it’s been set up and designed so the birds can sit on those, they can properly cool to the right temperature. We don’t want people burning their hands when they break the turkeys or carve the turkeys. It’s interesting to see how it all has to work and come together. It’s just an operation I’m in awe of every single time.”
“My life verse is Phil. 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. No matter the task you choose as a volunteer, you might not be comfortable with it and might not know what the expectations are, might not know how to do it. It might not even be something that you find as interesting as one of the other opportunities, but maybe it’s a need. It’s an area where we need dishwashers or pot cleaners or whatever it may be. God is going to be there to help you through that. And I will tell you, scrubbing those pots can be difficult, but some of the best conversations I’ve had are standing over the big bucket of water where we’re scrubbing those pots and just learning about each other’s backgrounds. I learned of a gentleman who had gone through the recovery program. He was within 5 days facing heart surgery, yet he was there with us cleaning pots and at the same time praising God about his recovery and that no matter what he faced with this heart surgery, God had brought him through everything already. So, to me, it’s one of those things that Phil. 4:13 is a verse I’ve always lived by no matter what it is, no matter what you face.”
Thank you, Stacie, for your heart for volunteering with Miracle Hill.
We still need volunteers for the 2025 Turkey Fry Event. Please contact Pamela Ballard, Volunteer Administrator, for more information. pballard@miraclehill.org
