Two North Carolina sisters are on a mission to make sure each family in need is well fed on Thanksgiving Day.
Alex Fischer, nine, and her six-year-old sister Caroline, began their mission two years ago as a family service project.
“We started this as a service project in 2017 for the family to do in the holidays,” the girls’ mom, Lisa Fischer, told CNN. “When I initially suggested we donate one box of food, Alex said that wasn’t enough and that we should do ten boxes.”
Lisa Fischer told her daughter that ten boxes was a large undertaking and suggested she start a fundraiser. That year, the family made it a goal to support 10-20 families with a local charity.
Alex was seven at the time, and the charity the family supported was the Charlotte Rescue Mission—a nonprofit that provides transitional housing for 120 days in Christian settings for men and women who are dependent on drugs and/or alcohol and are mostly homeless.
Several years later, ten boxes multiplied into 100 boxes.
“Last year we decided to go even bigger and I thought our goal should be 101 boxes and we ended up donating 130 boxes,” Alex told WCNC.
This year, Alex — along with her younger sister Caroline — are hosting bake sales and lemonade stands to raise money for the mission, WSOC reported.
At last weekend’s lemonade stand, they sold out for the first time and have raised enough money to buy 108 turkeys and food boxes.
Lisa Fischer said she never expected her family service project to grow, and hopes the kids continue to have an appetite for serving others.
“It’s kind of humbling to see how many people want to help them and be a part of this. And we’re really excited to see where they go with this,”Lisa Fischer said.
The Fischers usually start fundraising around the end of September, and have set up a GoFundMe page for support in their Thanksgiving mission.