On Wednesday the back room of Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Warner Robins was a marvel of logistics, with volunteers passing trays steadily along an improvised assembly line, adding beans, adding slaw, adding pulled pork and bread, snapping the containers shut and putting them into bags from Kroger.
It takes that kind of effort to serve over 3,200 take-out trays of barbecue, along with over 3,200 cups of iced sweet tea.
It was all part of a fund-raiser started just two weeks ago to help the family of 6-year-old cancer victim Joanna McAfee with medical expenses.
The main players at the outset were: James Richardson, who set up a trust fund for donations for Joanna.
Donna Churchwell, who learned about the trust fund and created an instant organization called "Friends of Joanna," e-mailed a few friends, started networking and wound up reaching thousands.
Brad Fink, owner of Sonny's, who provided the barbecue at rock-bottom cost, provided the space, and worked almost around the clock to make sure that everybody who had a ticket would get their barbecue.
While volunteers came from as far away as Atlanta to pitch in, most came from closer to home, like the 25 employees of Sonny, from executives to wait staff, who gave their time free to the project. Others were friends of Donna, friends of the McAfee family, and people who had just heard about the big barbecue benefit.
At last count, the team that was built on the Internet, and came together in a spirit of love, had raised well over $7,000 for the trust fund, and also raised awareness of one little girl's battle.
Joanna's dad, who was at the benefit on Wednesday, getting hugged by friends and strangers alike, said that the money would really help, but that he and his family felt also that they had received "a real outpouring of love."
"We appreciate it more than we can say," he said. He also asked for prayers, saying that his daughter needs a miracle.
