Editor, the News-Herald:

IMPACT Suffolk would like to thank every volunteer, every business and city government departments for making the &uot;Operation Blessing&uot; food give-a-way to the need on Sept. 24 a success.

A special thanks to Operation Blessing and CBN and The Bread Ministry of Hampton for blessing the needy of our area. More than 30,000 pounds of groceries, drinks, bread, coffee, hot dogs, chips and popcorn were given out.

A special thanks to the Parks and Recreation Department for all their professional assistance in the setup and take down at the site. Also, to the police department and Officer Jackson and the other officers, a big thanks for keeping order and providing protection at the site.

This year there were more than 115 volunteers from over 40 different churches, ministries and organizations that bagged the foods, served the 1,000 hot dogs, and gave out sno-cones, popcorn and drinks.

A special thanks to the clown groups, &uot;Jesters for Jesus&uot; and &uot;Christian Clowns of Virginia&uot; who provided skits and face painting for the kids.

Also a special thanks to the following businesses, clubs and organizations that made the family day possible: Operation Blessing of CBN, The Bread Ministry, Crisis Pregnancy Center, Gideons, Christian Rights Ministries, Sara Lee, Wal-Mart, Holiday Ice, Supreme Foods, Coastal Material Handling, Tidewater Fibers, Dale’s Garage and Wrecker Service of Chuckatuck, Penske Truck Rental, Farm Fresh of Suffolk and Smithfield, Food Lion on Portsmouth Boulevard, Copico, Suffolk Ruritan Club, American Red Cross, Social Services, a special trucking company and Donna Perry for the use of the sno-cone machine.

Dot Dalton

President

IMPACT Suffolk