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Kimberly Houk reporting Every Christmas dozens of people volunteer their time to put together a huge holiday dinner for homeless men, women and children in Salt Lake.
For the past two days, members of the Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and other faiths have been working together to get everything ready for the big meal at the St. Vincent DePaul Center.
Kimberly Houk reports on a family from Sandy that decided to spend the holiday helping others.
The Bluth family is doing something different this Christmas. Instead of spending the day at their home in Sandy, they're in downtown Salt Lake City serving hot food to the homeless.
Heidi Bluth/ Sandy: "I thought it would be a really good idea for our family to serve others, because that's what Christmas is all about, helping other people."
Brent Bluth Father: "We've probably tended to focus a little bit too much inward in the past on our family, worrying about if we're going to have enough gifts this year for our own family. This, I think, was a good experience for all of us to get outside ourselves a little bit."
Many volunteers have spent the past 2 days turning 500 pounds of hamburger into meatloaf, and mashing hundreds of potatoes for tonight's dinner.
Once the cooking was done, and the tables were set, the volunteers were organized.
When everyone was ready... the door opened.
Hundreds of people flooded in from the cold. And the serving began..
"It's been a joy. To help others is a joy. That's what our community is about."
Heidi: "I think it will really make me appreciate what we have and how blessed we really are."
Brent: "What's most important is that you have love for your family and for your fellowman, and service means more than anything else."
A lesson Brent Bluth says he hopes his children take away with them after spending this Christmas serving others.
Close to 1,000 people were served Christmas dinner tonight, and they were also given presents. The food and gifts were all donated.
