For many Durham residents, help for the holidays came in the form of hands serving food, passing out clothes and playing games with kids at the Durham Rescue Mission Tuesday afternoon.

The ministry's annual event brought out thousands who needed extra assistance this Christmas and hundreds who were willing to help. The Mission turned its grounds into a carnival for the kids and a clothing store for parents to get warm clothes for their families for the winter.

Reverend Ernie Mills, co-founder of the Mission, said this is a service that brings together different people from different walks of life.

"Really [with] the economy being bad this is the only Christmas that many of these kids would have, so we just like to see the kids smile and make it enjoyable for them," Rev. Mills said.

For Vanessa Harris and her six children, the Mission's annual Christmas dinner could not come at a better time.

"My husband is the only one that works and I'm in school," Harris said. "So he is constantly worried about how we are going to get Christmas for all these kids and still have everything else be okay."

Harris was able to get her little ones toys for the holidays, jackets for the winter and a good Christmas dinner.

The Mission served more than 120 turkeys and handed out 10,000 pieces of clothing. Kids tried their hand at ring toss and a football throw to win more than 5,000 toys.

More than 400 volunteers gave their time to serve food and administer carnival games at Tuesday's event.