Pamela Brooks, of Surrey, feels it's important to give back to the community.
Volunteering her time to help the Minot Salvation Army get ready for today's Thanksgiving Dinner in the Parker Senior Center is one of those ways.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Brooks was at the senior center cutting pies and putting the pieces in individual
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Eloise Ogden/MDN
Pamela Brooks, of Surrey, scores a pumpkin pie late Wednesday afternoon at the Parker Senior Center in Minot. Brooks is volunteering her time for the first time to help the Minot Salvation Army prepare for its Thanksgiving dinner that will be served there today.
plastic boxes. Other volunteers from Minot, Minot Air Force Base and the area were expected to join her to cut the pies and prepare other food Wednesday.
Michelle Bussard, director of social services for the Minot Salvation Army, said volunteers will cut 400 pieces of pie and of the 400, 300 of them in individual boxes will go to the homebound.
This is the first time Brooks has volunteered to help with the Salvation Army Thanksgiving dinner.
She said her husband, Shawn, saw in The Minot Daily News that volunteers were needed to help with the dinner. Late Wednesday afternoon, she said she was representing their family. She said her husband was still working and would join her later if he could, along with her son, Wil Oberdick.
She said her family is relatively new to the area.
"We moved here three years ago from Grants Pass, Ore.," she said.
She said her daughter and son-in-law were stationed at Minot AFB at the time. However, they have since left the base and now are in southern California. The Brooks stayed here and Oberdick joined them six months ago.
Brooks said volunteering is a valuable part of her life.
"It helps me to bring more perspective into life by helping out other people," she said.
She said the three of them plan to be at the Parker Senior Center today for the Thanksgiving dinner.