36 years ago Bea Gaddy started a Thanksgiving dinner, feeding 49 neighbors.
Over the years that tradition has grown and now thousands are given a warm holiday meal, thanks to the Bea Gaddy Thanksgiving Dinner.
Bea Gaddy started the annual dinner in 1981, she was a well-known advocate for the homeless. The first dinner started after she used the $250 she won in the lottery to feed 49 of her neighbors on Thanksgiving Day.
Since then, hundreds of volunteers have worked together to help feed thousands of people on Thanksgiving Day. Volunteers also deliver meals to those who couldn't make it to dinner.
Bea Gaddy died 16 years ago, but her daughter, Cynthia Brooks, makes sure her mother's legacy lives on.
