Houstonians give back to those in need on Christmas Day

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Across the city, several volunteer groups and churches cooked hot meals and served them to homeless Houstonians on Christmas morning.

At 5 am, the empty parking lot at the corner of Franklin and Chenevert Street was transformed into a working kitchen. Volunteers prepared eggs, handed out oranges and pastries, free to anyone who wanted it.

"It's just a blessing from God," said one man with a full plate of steaming breakfast.

For 19 years, this group has been feeding homeless men and women on Christmas morning. It started with one man, his wife, and kids, and a bag of apples.

"They came down started with a bag of fruit handing out fruit and it's grown from there," said Jeffrey Weaver, one of the organizers.

Now, nearly two decades later, dozens of volunteers give up their Christmas mornings to make someone else's special.

"It makes me feel great. Let's me know someone cares," says a woman there with her son.

"It's probably the most powerful Christmas I've ever had," said David Marcus, whose first year it was volunteering.

Next year, Marcus says he'll be back with his teenage son because of moments like this:

"Somebody came up to me and said, 'Just treating us like human beings and smiling at us, it's been a great Christmas.'"