'Angels that are right here among us': Why one family spent Christmas cruising around Austin
Julian McKinley and his family spent Christmas giving out food for free to those who needed it in Austin.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — On a brisk Christmas afternoon, a group of Central Texans pull over off of U.S. Highway 183 and North Lamar Blvd in Austin.
Julian McKinley, his cousin Bobby Waldon, Jr. and his fiancé, Shatandrea Hill, cooked about 70 leg quarters on Christmas Eve.
"I stayed up until 2:45 [am]; my cousin stayed up until about 4 [am], cooking it all up last night after we got off of work," McKinley said.
Friday morning, other family members packed the chicken into containers with vegetables and beans, piled them into big boxes and tubs and loaded it all into the back of a pickup truck.
McKinley and Hill say Waldon, Jr. came up with the idea.
"One day, we were just at home and my fiancé walked in the house, 'You know, babe, let's just give back to the community," Hill says.
The trio isn't affiliated with a nonprofit. They just wanted to bring a little extra meaning to their holiday and others who may have had an especially tough year due to the pandemic.
"Especially in these times right now, everything's crazy. I know a lot of people aren't here to celebrate with us, a lot of people are gone. I actually lost my uncle to COVID last June," Mckinley said.
The group drove to different spots around Austin until they ran out of food to distribute.
McKinley and Hill say there's also a lesson in all this for the younger members of their family.
"We want to show them that it's better to give than to receive,' Hill says. "Looking at the bigger picture of Christmas and the bigger picture of giving."
Giving that's extra important right now, says Angela Chatman, who received a meal today.
"Especially around the holidays for us it's hard because we can't be with our families because we can't afford to go travel; a lot of are not from here," she says.
Chatman says the gesture makes her feel like "people still care." And that means a family's Christmas mission is complete.
"Some people care... We care," McKinley says.
McKinley's mother, Melanie Bass, says she hopes the family's effort sends a message to the community.
"Let them know that in this time of uncertainty that the spirit of Christmas giving still exists through angels that are right here among us," she wrote to KXAN News.
The family used their own funds for this distribution but hopes to make it a yearly effort. If you'd like to pitch in, you can email Shatandrea Hill at ourhandsourhomestead@gmail.com.
