For the third year in a row, Farmers Feed Mill Restaurant will be throwing open its doors on a Sunday to help disadvantaged kids.
The restaurant, which is normally closed on Sundays, will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Sunday, Dec. 2, for a special charity benefit.
The serving and kitchen staff will be volunteering their time and tips, and the restaurant will be donating all proceeds from its food sales to a fund for kids’ gifts.
“We’re granting Christmas wishes for kids and for our customers who wish we were open on Sundays,” manager Jill Blakenship said Friday morning.
“All my employees are volunteering to work,” she said. “My vendors know we’re doing this, and they’re helping out as well.”
The restaurant works with the Grayson County School District’s Family Resource Center to identify kids in need. Blankenship said so far they’ve committed to helping 30 kids, but her goal is to be able to help 50 after Sunday. In past years they’ve been able to buy gifts for 40 to 70 kids annually.
The Farmers crew usually raises enough to buy each child multiple gifts, sometimes spending close to $100 per kid.
This will be the sixth year Farmers has done a fundraiser to help make sure children get their Christmas wishes. In past years they used guest servers — local volunteers who donated a few hours — as part of a weeklong effort to raise money.
“It’s an amazing day,” she said of their Sunday fundraisers, held the first weekend of December. “It’s crazy busy sometimes, but it’s a blessing to be able to do it.”
Sunday won’t, however, be the only day the restaurant’s staff steps up to help others. Many will also accompany Blankenship to shop — locally, as much as possible — for gifts for the kids, and will wrap the gifts with help from the Grayson County High School cheerleaders.
Then they’ll have a “Breakfast with Santa” the Saturday before Christmas, where the families can come in and pick up their gifts, meet the jolly old elf, and share a meal.
Blankenship said they don’t usually get to meet many of the children, but it’s still a project she and the staff enjoy.
For those unable to make it to the restaurant on Sunday, donations are being accepted. For more information on helping out, contact Blankenship at the restaurant at 230-0027.
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