DECATUR - Three generations volunteered to help serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless Thursday at Water Street Mission.

Grandma Judy Yarbrough, her daughter Leesa DiUlio, son-in-law Bryan, and grandchildren Brandan, 14, and Britney, 15, were five of the more than 20 volunteers who stood behind the serving table and waited on the diners.

"People are scattered this year," DiUlio said. "We just thought this would be a good thing to do."

Yarbrough joked that her grandchildren "dragged" her to the event, but she was far too cheerful about it for that to be the case.

Vinnie Barbee of Vinnie's Barbee-Q puts on the annual event at the mission and said he'll continue as long as his business exists. Turkeys were donated by Kroger, and the spread included all the traditional foods, prepared ahead of time by Barbee and his helpers.

"I never turn (volunteers) down," Barbee said with a smile. Just as he said that, Linda George popped through the door and introduced herself. She'd called him earlier in the week to offer her services, too.

That's how he gets nearly all of his volunteers, Barbee said. People hear about the dinner and call him. After all the guests were served, Barbee and his crew planned to sit down and have their Thanksgiving dinner along with everyone else.

Many of the people who show up at the mission are friends of Barbee's, either people he knew in school or friends he's made through the free dinner every year, and he doesn't mind missing dinner at home on the holiday if he can spend it with them, he said.

"It's something to give back to the community, and it's something to give to friends of mine," Barbee said. "Some of these people I knew before there was a Vinnie's Barbee-Q."

Barbee doesn't stop his charitable activities with food. He's working with Walker Limousine Service on a toy drive, with Millikin University on a blanket drive and buying Wii games for all the nursing homes in Decatur.

Barbee plans to expand his annual dinner to twice a year and provide a meal at Easter, too, said Pamela Lyman, who said the blessing over the meal and whose husband, Richard, is the kitchen manager at the mission.

"Each year, we're blessed to have this Thanksgiving feast because Vinnie has a heart," Lyman said. "He has a compassion for people."

With all that giving away of resources, how does his business stay afloat?

"God blesses him," George said. "It comes from God."

Barbee agreed. "It comes back tenfold."

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