"Gratefull" For A Caring And Generous Community

The generosity of the Dalton community was on full display Monday as the annual Gratefull celebration took the form of a food drive instead of a Thanksgiving meal, collecting food for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. The Gratefull Give Back collected more than 3,400 pounds of food in about three hours on Monday afternoon. 

The annual celebration is a collaboration of Believe Greater Dalton and the Downtown Dalton Development Authority and many other area agencies and businesses. It began in Chattanooga and came to Dalton in 2019 when more than 1,400 people came together to eat a Thanksgiving meal together at a table set up in the middle of Hamilton Street at Burr Park. Due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, the celebration shifted to a food drive in 2020 and again this year. More information about Gratefull can be found by clicking here. 

The Gratefull Give Back was set up at Burr Park on Monday, and despite a chilly and persistent wind, some of the donors stuck around to have lunch in the park. Volunteers gathered under the parking deck to help collect, organize, and box up the donated items as they came in. People from all walks of life in the community came together for the effort which was the intention of the original celebration, to unite members of our community in a celebration of Thanksgiving. 

Below: Scenes from the Gratefull Give Back celebration. To see more pictures from the event, click here to view a gallery on Facebook.