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<p>DALLAS &#8212; One Back Mountain area woman wanted her birthday to be about more than just her.</p><p>&#8220;My birthday wish was that nobody would be hungry in the Back Mountain,&#8221; said Sandra Serhan.</p><p>To further that wish, she teamed up with Gate of Heaven Church to organize Sunday&#8217;s Family Fun Food Drive Festival for her birthday weekend.</p><p>Serhan &#8212;the first baby baptized at Gate of Heaven Church &#8212; officially celebrated her birthday Nov. 7, but invited the community to the church Sunday to enjoy music, games and homemade food. The price of admission? One canned food item.</p><p>Items collected contributed to the church&#8217;s confirmation class&#8217;s goal of collecting 5,000 canned goods for in-need families in the area, she said.</p><p>David Parmalee, instructor for the confirmation class, said the project called &#8220;We can feed 5,000&#8221; is just the latest step in the church&#8217;s ongoing efforts to feed the less fortunate in the Back Mountain.</p><p>The church has collected food ahead of the holidays for as long as he can remember, Parmalee said, but decided recently to expand its efforts.</p><p>&#8220;Last year we thought, &#8216;What if we decided to set the bar higher?&#8217;&#8221; he said.</p><p>By Sunday morning, the class already had collected more than 3,000 items, adding several hundred more at the food drive later in the day.</p><p>&#8220;These are the most generous people you could imagine,&#8221; Parmalee said.</p><p>The goal of 5,000 is inspired by Bible stories in which Jesus multiplies fish and loaves of bread to feed that number of people, he said.</p><p>Whether the class will actually reach the goal remains to be seen, Parmalee said, though he&#8217;d certainly like to see it do so.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll pray for that,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The class has until next Sunday to reach its goal, but the church will continue collecting food through Thanksgiving. Donations can be dropped off at the church, located at 40 Machell Ave., Dallas.</p><p>The class also accepts cash donations, with each dollar donated counting as one item.</p><p>The church first will distribute the items to in-need families in the Back Mountain area, Parmalee said, and remaining food items will be donated the the Back Mountain Food Pantry out of Trucksville United Methodist Church.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sandra Serhan places a cake down that she baked for the Family Fun Food Drive Festival at the Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL110915fooddrive1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sandra Serhan places a cake down that she baked for the Family Fun Food Drive Festival at the Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL110915fooddrive2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mia Contardi, left, watches Hannah Kline put vanilla icing on a cupcake at the Family Fun Food Drive Festival at Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL110915fooddrive2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Mia Contardi, left, watches Hannah Kline put vanilla icing on a cupcake at the Family Fun Food Drive Festival at Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL110915fooddrive3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The band, &#8216;Don Shapelle &amp; The Pick Ups&#8217;, plays for the attendees of the Family Fun Food Drive at Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL110915fooddrive3.jpg</photo2><caption2>The band, &#8216;Don Shapelle &amp; The Pick Ups&#8217;, plays for the attendees of the Family Fun Food Drive at Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By James O&#8217;Malley</p><p>jomalley@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach James O&#8217;Malley at 570-991-6390 or on Twitter @TL_omalley.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Birthday bash in Dallas has goal of collecting 5,000 food items for those in need