Year-round gratitude: It changes lives, one meal, one step, one kindness at a time

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” — President John F. Kennedy

There's thankfulness.

And then there's gratitude: deep, abiding appreciation; an inner voice and state of mind. Coupled with action, it can change lives.

As countless Americans express their thanks this holiday season, undoubtedly many will also share their gratitude (and November's National Gratitude Month, by the way).

Volunteers and staff for the two organizations featured here, the Central Brevard Sharing Center in Cocoa and the Under the Bridge ministry in Titusville, have a common goal — helping those who, for whatever reason, need anything from a warm place to sleep to food for their families to a steady job.

They have this in common, too: Their actions reflect appreciation for their own blessings — and what comes back to them in the form of a smile or a changed life is all the thanks they need.

"You know, God says take care of the least of us, right?" said Curtis Wright, Under the Bridge's co-founder.

"So that's who we're looking after ... they're no different than you and me. They're human beings, created by the same God I was created by. That makes us all brothers and sisters."

Bridging the gap

For a couple of hours on Monday nights, Lisa Mazzatto walks around a pavilion at Sand Point Park in Titusville with a notebook in her hand.

She scribbles in it periodicially as she talks with those gathered for a meal and fellowship with volunteers of the Under the Bridge ministry.

The notebook, it turns out, is full of prayer requests from people who come seeking food, comfort and conversation: Topping the list, always? A job.

At night's end, Mazzatto goes home and alerts members of a private Facebook page to the requests — and they pray for the people who made them.

"I'd been looking for an opportunity to serve and volunteer," Mazzatto said. "And now it's been three years."

That little book and the love that stems from its entries is just one of the kindnesses extended to those who attend the weekly gathering and, along with a hot meal, tables are packed with necessities. A coat. A good pair of pants. Canned goods.

Curtis and Tracey Wright started this effort in 2015. They wish it didn't keep getting bigger, but it does. Anywhere from 70 to 90 people, some who are homeless and some who are just hurting, show up regularly for the meal and fellowship. So do volunteers, from several Brevard churches and others who've heard about the donation-driven mission.

Wright, he said, owes "everything obviously first and foremost to God."

"This is his vision. We're just following it," he said.

"But none of this is possible without the Careys, the Carlas, the Tims, the Mikes, the Jims and Johns, all these guys who come in week after week after week. Not just on Monday, but behind the scenes. If someone's struggling in a camp, these guys run out and they make sure they've got the resources they need, the food they need. We've been able to establish a great relationship with doctors so we can get health care for the folks."

Gratitude abounds here near the A. Max Brewer Bridge, whether it comes from those who need a lead on a job or if it's flowing from the volunteers.

Carey Chambers is the meal coordinator. She, Carla Bair and Donna Lessard, with their own money, each make 75 servings of a main dish weekly, with other volunteers making 25 side dish servings apiece. They planned a big Thanksgiving meal, too.

"I help with the ministry because my heart hurts for people to go without," she said. "People feeling worthless, invisible and unloved. People without basic needs, shelter and food, but most, without knowing the Lord. It blesses me richly, more than any amount of money in the world, to help."

Mike Waugh, one of the Wrights' neighbors, recalls when he first stepped up, and was so gung-ho he had to be told to slow down and relax.

Waugh, a parishioner at St. Teresa Catholic Church, makes announcements. Helps handles logisitics and so much more. This ministry has changed his life, he said.

"Curtis told me, 'We're here for the long haul ... you want to fix everything at once.' So I've been here eight years now, and it actually does more for me than I do for it," he said.

"You see all of God's people come together. It doesn't matter what church you're from ... we serve the same God. And we're all just trying to help people."

People like Joe, who is 44. He graduated from high school in Titusville. He's had amnesia. The deaths of family members and friends who were his rocks hit him hard, he said, and his life right now is rough.

He comes for more than just a casserole or a sandwich. He feels seen there — as a person, not just someone in need.

"They're not ... what's the word?" he said. "Superficial. Some churches are like that. But this guy, Curtis, and these people? They're not judgemental. They actually help me because it's more than just the food and the clothes ... they talk to people. About stuff that matters."

What matters, to the organizers, is that everyone who makes their way to that pavilion feels warmth, feels needed, feels heard.

A few years ago, Wright said, he could've gone down a very different path. A former drug addict, he said he once "found myself getting very close to getting in trouble."

Now, Wright is not only a man of faith, he's a man with a vision that continues to grow.

The nonprofit was recently gifted a building in downtown Titusville. They plan a resource center, where people will be able to start to find a path to build, or rebuild, their life. Wright can relate.

"When this ministry started, I finally grew," he said.

"I'm no longer that little boy. I'm no longer that troublemaker. I found I have a bigger heart for people than I realized I did."

One man's mission forges a legacy

The Central Brevard Sharing Center in Cocoa meant the world to John Anderson, one of the center's founding members.

Anderson, who died at 93 on Aug. 23, 2020, still means the world to Sharing Center staff and volunteers.

He was there when they became a 501c3 nonprofit in 1978. He was part of the group that found the building where the center is now housed, on Aurora Street.

Anderson is especially, and poignantly, remembered this time of year at the center, which started its annual Thanksgiving meal at its present location in 1989 and served 150 people on that day in 2022.

"I think John was ecstatic to be able to come here and serve the Thanksgiving meals as long as he did," said David Brubaker, president and CEO.

"He knew we'd have everything together, but he was the cheerleader. The one who'd motivate us, pat people on the back. His presence was literally like the roof."

In 2022-2023, the center, which offers meals daily, served 40,898 meals to 1,930 registered clients. That doesn't include the 3,300 children's meals they provided. Anderson was always, Brubaker said, supportive of the center's work to help those struggling with basic needs.

And as Anderson aged, he looked ahead. In 2019, Anderson asked LEAD Brevard — which works to strengthen community by inspiring people to lead — to be part of continuing the holiday event he so loved.

Kristin Bakke, LEAD Brevard president and CEO, calls it "an honor and a privilege to represent Brevard and continue John's legacy."

"I was so excited when he came to us and asked if we'd be able to take over and I said, unequivocally, yes," she said.

"I put out one message to Leadership Brevard alumni for volunteers, and we had volunteers. Most of them have made this an annual tradition with their families, but it's just one of the days that they help here in the community."

One of those graduates is Brubaker, Class of 2012. He's been at the center for 21 years, and Anderson was more than a mentor, he was a friend and inspiration.

"I look at John's involvement with our organization as a blessing," Brubaker said. "To have someone of his stature and that level of caring for community come in ... that's huge. He was just a rock, someone I could lean on with questions. I always loved hearing his voice. It was wonderful, calming. He really drew you in."

Other Leadership Brevard grads have their own reasons for holding Anderson's wishes close in their hearts.

Robyn Hattaway, Class of 2014, is grateful for the humbling lessons learned through service.

"My kids learned that first year we were serving families, that we were making others' Thanksgiving happy — moms and dads, grandmas, kids," she said.

"For our family to be a part of their family is what makes it really Thanksgiving."

More: A time to laugh, a time to mourn — and always, a time to celebrate life and friendship: Kennerly

Cocoa councilman Alex Goins, Class of 2023, has watched his grandmother, "Ms. Dot" Linson, serve thousands of holiday meals over the past two decades in Melbourne.

The mission to assist anyone who makes their way to the Cocoa center at any time is one he's glad to be part of, he said.

"It's always good to give back," he said.

"We always need people to come in and help out — we know there's a lot of poverty in some areas of Cocoa. We feel like we have no choice but to do this, and that's what we're going to do."

Vinnie Taranto, Class of 2014, thinks about the people who "don't feel seen" and Anderson's ability to relate to them.

"I think it's important that they know their concerns are our concerns," Taranto said.

"And so when they come here, not only do they get food, but they get dignity. They get comfort. We treat them as an individual ... we look at them and maybe we put a hand on their arm or their shoulder. It's those little things, that not only feed their stomach but feed their soul."

Anderson's grandson, James Clinton Francis, said his grandfather taught him the value of being a lifelong learner, of a "culture of rigor."

That's something that helps carry him along and inspires him.

Now studying at Columbia Law School, Francis remembers Thanksgivings with Anderson, but also, the lessons his grandfather imparted that reverberate across the ages.

"We'd go to visit him in the summer, or in the spring, and it wasn't a holiday, but we'd be engaged with the Sharing Center," he said.

"And that lesson kind of taught me that you should roll up your sleeves and help, not only when it's popular, but no matter the season ... there are always individuals, groups, families in need. We can't see progress in the world, improvement, if we only help for part of the year. It has to happen all the time."

Britt Kennerly is education/breaking news editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Kennerly at 321-917-4744 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly Facebook: /bybrittkennerly.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Gratitude: For these Brevard volunteers, when it shows, it grows