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The Mozel Sanders Foundation hit a milestone this year, one that they hope will not be repeated.

The foundation served their 1 millionth meal to the family of Nicole Gonzalez, a mother of eight children.

To learn more about the Gonzalez family click here.

For more information visit, mozelsanders.org.

There’s a new pizza in town, and you can find it at Pi Indy!

Lawrence Scully, owner of Pi Indy and pizza supplier for Daniel’s Family Vineyard & Winery, and Amora Scott of Mozel Sanders joined us today to discuss their new partnership.

Daniel’s Vineyard sells the Mozel Sanders BBQ sauce, and 100% of the profits go back to the foundation. Pi Indy is using the same sauce on one of their pizzas as well as a few other menu items.

For more information visit:

danielsvineyard.com

mozelsanders.org

eatbetterpizza.com

instagram.com/pi_indy

THIS SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY MOZEL SANDERS.

This is the 50th year of the Mozel Sanders Foundation serving Thanksgiving Day dinners to those in need.

The foundation expects to serve its 1 millionth meal this Thanksgiving and to serve 10,000 meals this year due to COVID restrictions.

A $20 donation feeds a family of four, and you can text “MOZEL” to 313131 to donate.

Dawn Jones of the Mozel Sanders Foundation joined us today with more information on their initiatives.

She said grant recipients for Rev. Roosevelt Sanders’s Educators will be awarded 10 grants today.

Also, a documentary featuring five decades of Mozel is set to be released during summer 2022.

For more information visit, WISHTV.com/MozelSanders and mozelsanders.org.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Mozel Sanders Foundation did not let the coronavirus pandemic get in the way of 49 years of tradition.

Because of the pandemic, Thanksgiving looked a lot different this year for volunteers with the Mozel Sanders Foundation. To help with social distancing, fewer people prepared food at the Tabernacle Presbyterian Church.

Normally most of the food is prepared in a kitchen at Butler University. This year because of the pandemic, organizers had to use several different locations to prepare the food. Because of that, they couldn’t make as many meals this year. In previous years, the foundation and its volunteers prepared up 40,000 meals. This year, those folks prepared 10,000.

The chief operations officer of the foundation, Stephanie Sanders said the community has to pull together to continue to take care of each other.

“We need to pull together as a people and a nation and make it work ,” Sanders said.

Mike O’Banyel was in charge of the Mozel Sanders’ preparation at the Tabernacle Presbyterian. The church was this year’s largest satellite location for the foundation. Volunteering on Thanksgiving Day for the foundation has become a family tradition for him that started with O’Banyel’s father. Now, that tradition has continued with his sons and his wife. He said seeing the volunteers working says a lot about the human spirit.

“It makes me grateful that there are people willing to serve, help out and give time on Thanksgiving Day when they could be spending time with their family.”

Barbra Boyd has been volunteering at Tabernacle preparing meals for 30 years. She said helping people in need is one of the most satisfying things she’s ever done. “We know from experiences that there are people that are hungry, so we are doing our share to make sure that they are going to eat today.”

The event’s organizers said the success was a team effort. Sanders said, “Mozel Sanders is just the name but the Hoosiers make it happen in Indianapolis.”

The Mozel Sanders Foundation is already preparing to make next year’s Thanksgiving bigger and better than ever. The foundation always welcomes support from the community. People can use their smartphones to donate by texting “mozel” to 313131 or going to the “Donate” section at mozelsanders.org.

Coronavirus links

Indiana coronavirus timeline

With information from the Indiana Department of Health through March 4, 2021, this timeline reflects updated tallies of deaths and positive tests prior to that date.