“Alright everybody, let’s go, let’s go,” she said as she picked up a whole turkey and quickly tossed it to a nearby volunteer.

Her words ignited a flurry of activity. A team of about a dozen volunteers began scrambling to fill empty boxes with the makings of a complete Christmas meal — turkey or ham, cherry sauce, greens, yams and other fixings.

Called Love Baskets, the boxes would soon be delivered into the hands of those in need — the wearied, the burdened or those who just needed a helping hand during the holidays.

It’s a project Hedgepeth said Helping Hand’s director Sylvia Watson began about three decades ago. And it’s one Hedgepeth, who manages the mission’s Cary store just beyond the towns’ border in Raleigh, has been involved with for 16 years.

“It means a lot to be able to give something to someone to make them happy when they might be sad,” Hedgepeth said. “It’s a joy this year more than ever to present families with something they don’t have. That’s worth the world to me.”

Planning for the annual event begins in full force the day after Thanksgiving and continues through Dec. 22. During that time, Hedgepeth said she and others take the names and number of people in families that express a need.

This year, Hedgepeth and her team at the Cary location gathered enough food from the community to provide meals to 35 families in southwest Wake County. Some families also received toys and, or clothes from donors who took part in the mission’s Angel Tree program.

It’s an increase over what Hedgepeth saw last year while managing another of the mission’s branches in downtown Raleigh. In 2007, she helped gather enough food to supply about 25 needy families with a Christmas dinner.

Octavia Rainey, a friend of Watson’s and a volunteer for 10 years, said she saw a reason for the increase, which she noted had also been seen at other Helping Hand stores. “The need is greater because the number of people who have lost their jobs is just tremendous,” she said. “Now in this recession, the need for food is greater than ever. It’s a bad economy; it’s just bad.”

Among those on the receiving end of the gift giving this year were Robert and Angela Partin and their 8-year-old daughter, Angel. Their inclusion on this year’s Love Basket list was orchestrated by Rainey, whom Angela Partin said she met years ago while staying in a shelter for abused women during a previous marriage.

Partin has faced a series of problems over the years including, she says, when her former husband illegally took her children out of the country. She was involved in a serious car crash in 1999 on Old Stage Road in Raleigh. Lasting injuries she sustained at the time resulted in her losing her job at an area thrift store.

In 2000, Partin underwent a complicated pregnancy with her youngest daughter, Angel, who is autistic. Partin never returned to work, preferring instead to stay at home with her daughter.

Today, her family is relatively healthy and stable and is sustained by her husband’s income. But after so many trying years, Partin said she was grateful for an unexpected holiday gift.

“It just fell upon her heart to call me,” Partin said of Rainey, with whom she has maintained contact. “It means a lot.”