JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Sulzbacher Center and Active Magazine spread some Christmas cheer with a special dinner party Monday evening.
The event focused on serving meals and gifts to hundreds of local adults in need. Players with the Jacksonville Giants were even there to hand out holiday T-shirts and sign autographs.
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Wendy Jenkins was just one of more than 200 who got a hefty plate of holiday cheer.
"(I'm) glad that I'm here, because it could be a lot worse," she said. "At least I know I've got people here who care about me. We feel this bond because we're all in this together. We're all here -- different situations, but it's like we can share Christmas together and it's not as bad."
Single adults in need were welcomed with warm hugs and hearty helpings of support from the Sulzbacher Center and Active Magazine.
And if the Black Finn and Whiskey Jax catering wasn't enough, these men and women got a savory serving of love from players with the Jacksonville Giants.
Organizers like Brian Snow said a record number of people in Jacksonville need a safe haven this year.
"I just want them to walk away thinking that there's people who care about them. There's people that love them. We live in a great community and I hope that they walk away with a little bit of joy around Christmas time," he said.
And that joy is something Jenkins said she hopes will set the stage for a bright and prosperous new year.
The Sulzbacher Center has many more events scheduled over the holiday week.
On Monday night, they had about 90 people on the waiting list for their Christmas meal and they're expecting that need to grow over the next couple of days, especially with the bad weather.