COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The holidays can be a stressful time. But, they can be even more stressful if money is tight. The owners of Calvary Family Martial Arts Fitness say they understand the difficulties that many members in the community face, which is why Isaac and Heather Costley are leading an effort to provide food to families in need for the holidays.
“We’ve gone out and bought a lot of turkeys that people are then volunteering to cook at home and then we’re going to take them to needy places here in the Springs to where they’ll be able to eat and have a great Thanksgiving,” said Isaac Costley.
The Costleys had originally planned for 10 turkeys that they would then distribute to the Red Cross. But while demand increased, so did their shopping cart. Isaac Costley said that they added 6 more in a relatively short time. So, they said this was one of the reasons why they wanted to encourage others to get onboard and donate as well.
“It just takes one person, buy one turkey, take it to one home and you’re going to feed five to seven people,” Isaac Costley said.
“A little bit goes a long way,” Heather Costley added.
Isaac Costley told FOX21 that doing a good deed this season doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of turkeys or food donations, but simply paying it forward whenever the situation arises can help carry forward kindness through the community.
He said that this mindset has become one of the foundations in CFMAF. Donating and providing food to those in need is nothing new to them, and the Costleys said they do it whenever they can.
“We do a lot of free community events here in town. We’ll order a lot of things like pizza, drinks, ecetera… more than enough for the people that show up, but then after that we drive throughout town, we’ll got to shelters and give those pizzas away,” Isaac Costley said.
This idea trickled down through the organization and now both the Costleys and students of CFMAF operate together whenever a challenges comes up.
“The great thing about our program here is that we’re all about family,” Isaac Costley said. “And our family extends beyond our front door. So our students, our members, our families here they al volunteer that when we’re going to do something for the community, they remember they’re a part of the community.”
The CFMAF will be distributing the turkeys to the Red Cross on Wednesday.
Donation information for the Red Cross of Colorado Springs can be found here.
Some of the homeless shelters in the community include:
