By Lauren Thornton Tobin|Hartselle Enquirer

The Karate Basket Brigade is back at it this year, chopping and kicking away hunger around the holidays.

The 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization is collecting canned food items and monetary donations for its 12^th annual Christmas dinner drive and the most needed items are green beans, peas, corn and boxed stuffing. Money will go towards perishable foods and Bibles.

President of the Board of Directors Donna Chappell said the main event will take place at 11 a.m. Dec. 17 at the O.W.O Recreational Center in Hartselle.

“We mainly focus on families with children and the elderly who are unable to afford a Christmas dinner,” Chappell said.

Over the years, Chappell has had different stories to tell about families impacted by the food baskets.

She told the story of a past year when volunteers delivered a basket to a house, knocked on the door, and when someone answered the volunteers gave them the basket. The family member asked where it came from and one of the volunteers said, ‘Jesus.’
The family member asked the volunteers to come in. When they got in there, they saw a family sitting around a table. The family member told them that they had all just prayed to have enough food to feed everyone.

“What’s amazing is that they delivered it to the wrong house,” Chappell said. “That wasn’t the house it was supposed to go to.”

What started with a small operation serving only the city of Hartselle evolved into an operation serving five counties, Morgan, Madison, Limestone, Lawrence and Cullman.

“Last year we had people we’d never met, they just wanted to come help,”

she said. “Someone will call and say, ‘We know a family who could use some help.’ We get family names from churches, Hospice, Alacare and guidance counselors at schools.”

Chappell said sometimes families know they’re getting a basket but her favorite deliveries are the unexpected ones.

“I love to surprise people and see the look on their face when they’re not expecting it,” she said. “That’s a blessing.”

The Karate Basket Brigade is not just something adults can do; children are welcome to help.

“We love for the kids to get involved,” Chappell said. “We want kids to get involved so they can see there are less fortunate out there. Kids like to get and get and get instead of give, give, give. This teaches a lesson on giving.”

Asking for children to be involved in the event ties in to what the Brigade’s mission is: Investing in families.

“Families are just fallen by the wayside and we try to encourage them to be together and eat together,” Chappell said. “We call it ‘investing in families’ and we try to give them hope and encouragement.”

All donations are tax deductible and receipts can be written if needed.

Food donations are accepted at the following places:

• Hartselle

Corum’s Ace Hardware

Petmasters

Mike’s Gun

Sparkman Civic Center

Byford’s Gun

• Cullman

Herbs, Organics, and More

• Moulton

Faith Baptist Church

Monetary donations can be made on the website, chappellkaratebasketbrigade.com, mailed to P.O. Box 268, Falkville, AL 35622, or picked up by Brigade members.