<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Hundreds of needy people and families found gravy, gifts, and generosity at Northern Kentucky's Convention Center on this Christmas Day.For the 26th year, Mental Health America hosted the event, serving holiday dinners and providing toys, gifts, coats, blankets, scarves and a bagful of items.Watch this storyA grateful Peggy Liver had praise for the way the day was put together.She does not feel the same about 2013, a year that has been rough for her.She seems ready to ring it off the calendar in a few days.Images: Christmas meal at NKY convention centerDealing with layoff and multiple surgeries in her family, she could not have provided the kind of holiday her children had on Wednesday.\"It means a lot,\" Liver said. \"The kids can have something nice to eat and have something warm and then also be able to get some gifts that I can't give them.\"Hundreds of volunteers were on hand again this year to direct the food line and treat those who showed up as guests.Some were from the Isaac Wise Temple, devoting the morning to wrap gifts.Tom Stanken, who has directed this charitable effort for 23 years, said as the need has grown, so has the participation of individual sponsors and volunteers.\"What we're finding in the last couple years is that a lot of middle-class people have lost their jobs,\" he said.In fact, Stanken said about a third of the folks being served Wednesday have seen their middle-class lifestyle go away.Scarf It Up once again donated handmade scarves to the event.They used to bring a few hundred. \"Now we're handing out 10,000,\" Tammy Simpson, with Scarf It Up, said.Corporate sponsors had bags of giveaway items ready at the end of a long line of tables staffed by those who sacrificed several hours of their holiday.Former Bengal James Brooks was there to help distribute donated items and shake a few hands.\"It's about trying to help people and this is what Christmas is about, everybody trying to enjoy each other,\" Brooks said.Asked if he's getting the occasional Who-Dey, the former running back laughed.\"No question about it,\" Brooks said. \"Who-Dey. That's just a part of my life.\"Many of the people who had Christmas there do not have televisions, radios or newspaper subscriptions.Mental Health America prints 2,500 handbills and distributes them in Covington and Newport at clinics, the library, police department and in housing projects.Many people heard about it through word of mouth.\"There's even teenagers here that help\", Liver said.Her daughter Bekka,16, said she has seen the worth of the program firsthand and would like to be one of the volunteers next year."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wlwt.com/article/volunteers-help-make-christmas-memorable-for-families-in-tri-state/3538132>