When you’ve been blessed, it only makes sense to pass the blessing on, at least according to one family in the Salisbury area.

A North Rowan Middle School teacher’s family donated Thanksgiving dinners for three families in need on Wednesday.

The teacher contacted Camille Mackey, student support specialist at North Rowan from Communities in Schools, and told her the family wanted to find three families to donate food to for Thanksgiving. Mackey helps distribute food from the Salvation Army to children who need food to take home with them, so she had a good idea of which children could use some help during the holiday.

Mackey chose the three children and called their parents to ask if they would like to be sponsored for Thanksgiving.

Mackey said the families were very grateful for the family’s generosity.

“I think one of them said they didn’t know what they were going to do. I think their stove had broken and they didn’t have any plans to have a big dinner,” Mackey said. “So she was very excited.”

The donating family said they wanted to stay anonymous.

“I don’t care that our names be mentioned that we did this for someone because, to me, that takes the blessing away,” the mother of the family said. “I would just rather that those people be thankful that they did get something to have for Thanksgiving.”

The teacher said the family has always liked to give back to the community.

“My family’s a big blessing family. We like to be a blessing to people in any type of way,” the teacher said.

The mother of the family said God blessed her family, so it was only right to try and bless someone else.

“If you think about it, if you’re sitting down eating a meal at home and knowing that somebody else would like to have a meal and you could help provide for that person, you just want to help,” she said.

The food the family ordered from Cracker Barrel included turkey, sides and even a pie. The teacher and father of the family delivered the food to the families on Wednesday night.

The mother of the family said she was always taught to help those who really needed it, and that is what their donations were all about.

“My mom always taught us if you ever get up, don’t ever get your head puffed up where you feel like you’re better than someone else,” she said. “Always reach back and help somebody else.”

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.