More than a meal: Volunteers transform Reading shelter for Christmas night | Reading Area

READING, Pa.- On Thursday night at Opportunity House in Reading, Christmas feels like family.

“It’s a really special day,” said Ariana Austin.

Members of St. Francis Church in Robesonia were on site cooking, serving, and donating the meal.

“We had these volunteers come in today for dinner and they donated a lot of cereal, a lot of blankets, stuff that we desperately needed,” Austin said.

The shelter was transformed into something more than just a place to stay.

Pam Sweigart is one of the volunteers helping make it happen. She’s been doing this kind of work for nearly 30 years.

“We’ll probably serve another 80 here. So we brought chili, and I’ve added cookies and I’ve added oranges and Kathy made mac and cheese and we have cornbread,” Sweigart said.

For the people staying at Opportunity House, the impact goes beyond the food.

“You can feel a sense of family… even if you don’t have family with you,” Austin said.