Ten thousand hot meals are given to individuals in need on Thanksgiving Day by the Mozel Sanders Foundation, which has been a foundation of support in Central Indiana for more than 50 years.
Under the direction of board member Mike Ruggiero, CEO Stephen Sanders, and COO Stephanie Sanders, the group keeps growing its goal of providing food for the hungry while fortifying links within the community.
“This is our passion,” Stephanie Sanders stated. “In 2020, we reached a milestone of 1 million meals served. This mission is not in vain.”
Without the community’s contributions, the Foundation could not carry out its mission.
The Thanksgiving dinner distribution relies heavily on Hoosier support, donations, and volunteerism. “It’s entirely a community effort,” Stephen Sanders declared. “It is made possible by the prayers, the donations, and the practical assistance.”
Ruggiero, who has been on the board and a supporter since 1996, talked about how he first learned about the Foundation. “When I first saw Mozel Sanders serve 25,000 meals, I was amazed. Coming from Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, I’d never seen anything like it,” he remarked. He was moved, made a connection with the Sanderses, and has been active ever since.
Thanksgiving is just one day of the Foundation’s activities. In addition to providing goods twice a month, it recently created a communal green space in Haughville with fruit trees and educational opportunities about regional items like pawpaw fruit from Indiana.
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Stephanie Sanders underlined, “We are more than a seasonal foundation. But Thanksgiving remains our claim to fame.”
The Foundation provides a number of avenues for individuals who wish to make a contribution. Donations can be made by phone at 317-636-7985, using the Cash App with $MozelSanders, by texting “Mozell” to 53555, or online at mozelsanders.org. A family of four can be fed with a $20 gift.
“This work is a labor of love,” Stephanie Sanders stated. “It’s our family’s legacy, and we’re not going anywhere.”
To learn more, go to mozelsanders.org.
