The Capital City Rescue Mission in Albany held a holiday tradition that filled empty stomachs with food, and filled the room with countless smiles of appreciation.

The homeless shelter began the holiday celebration with Christmas carols in the chapel. From there, guests were led into a dining room, decorated with yule time messages.

Pastor Perry Jones has been serving Albany’s homeless community for 43 years. The rescue mission on South Pearl Street typically serves 1,000 meals a day, and sleeps 300 people every night.

The mission’s plan for Christmas, which involves dozens of community volunteers, is to turn heartache into joy for hundreds of needy people, one plateful at a time.

The full-service day of kindness, compassion, and community giving included take-out dinners, along with the distribution of more than 3,000 toys and presents for kids.

Learn more about how the volunteers and the people they serve both get something out of this, by watching the video of Dan Levy’s story.