Cobb military families receive Christmas feast, gifts

Two Cobb County military families are experiencing a special Christmas this year thanks to a Kennesaw restaurant and the American Legion.  They raised enough money to provide a Christmas feast and dozens of presents for five children.

Sidelines Sports Grille in Kennesaw teamed with the American Legion to donate the gifts to the families, including the Sgt. Melvin Clark of the Georgia National Guard.  

"We cook a full dinner for them. Every family gets a full dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans - -some soda. Things like that," said Carlos Lopez, the owner of Sidelines in Kennesaw.

Clark has been deployed to Afghanistan twice. He hasn't been able to find full-time work since coming back.

"Employers are looking at National Guardsmen and says, "I can't take the risk to train him and he can be deployed and then I can lose that.' And military pay is not the greatest. And so there is a lot of military families on subsistence now," said Ron Asby of the American Legion Cobb County.

Sidelines held a raffle in November and collected $2,300 for two Cobb County military families and their children.  LindseyC and her staff spent days shopping and wrapping the presents. Thanks to them and the patrons, each child will get 12 to 15 presents this holiday and the families each get a hefty Walmart gift card.

"These are families and people that come in and spend money here, just with us but in our economy. They're also overseas fighting for us so that those of us that don't have to fight and are able to spend our money freely and travel safely to buy Christmas gifts for family and friends. This is just really a way for us to be able to give back to everybody that gives to us all year," Crooks said.

Lopez has been doing this for six years. He hopes next year other businesses will step in to help more military families.