April Love and her daughter Julie Vargas.

Sonja Reis | MRCDC

April Love is the winner of our “What Are You #Thankful For?” contest held in November. Love, a resident of the McKees Rocks Bottoms neighborhood, and her daughter Julie Vargas, a sophomore at Sto-Rox High School, were ecstatic to be chosen the winner in our $50 grocery gift card drawing.

In her winning entry, she wrote, “I’m grateful for stores like Aldis that make it easier for low-income families to enjoy meals and treats at lower costs than other grocery stores. I’m thankful mostly at this time for my church family @Faithbridge Community Church and for their caring and welcoming attitudes towards all people. The Rocks needs more (people) like the folks at Faithbridge. I’m also grateful that my child can still live at my home, even though we’re going to move out of housing and into the ‘real world.’ God is good and I am grateful.”  

The prize was used to help her family of four expand the food choices for their Thanksgiving dinner. “It [was] nice to see a full turkey on the table,” Love says.

With another holiday to budget for just around the corner, MRCD is planning to hold a similar contest in the coming weeks. Watch our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for details.