Thanksgiving Charity

 

            At the November general meeting, I asked for donations for the Turkey Lady, who donates turkey dinners to the needy. The chapter’s donations totaled $1000.00 and I thank you for your support. Briefly, I want to tell you a little about her organization and how much this Thanksgiving charity has provided this year.

            Robin started this grass roots organization 14 years ago  because she felt that many people donate to charities at Christmas, but that those with needs are often forgotten at Thanksgiving. She wanted to help the community that has been good to her, so she collects contributions from friends and family to purchase dinners for the holiday. Once the funds are collected, she matches them, (two dollars per dollar donated) from her own pocket. Then she purchases as many dinners for four that the funds will buy. A dinner for four consists of one turkey (15-20 lb.), one box of stuffing mix, and two cans of vegetables. This food then goes to the Salvation Army for distribution. The Salvation Army was chosen, rather than other food banks, because they only distribute food to those that prove they are in need.

            Robin has matched donated funds two for one since 9-11-01 because she felt the need to do more. So the $1000.00 that we donated bought $3000.00 of food. Robin collected   approximately $9000.00, and with her matching funds bought over  $27,000.00 worth of food. This bought 2555 dinners for four (that's over 10,000 individual meals )and now many folks that  may  not have had a decent holiday meal will have one. The Salvation Army was overwhelmed with requests for assistance this year. They had more than 3000 applications for food and we helped provide for a good portion of the food required.

Donations this year were way down, most think due to the slow economy. The Salvation Army was very short for the Thanksgiving dinners this year and was so thankful we came through. This was all possible due to your generosity. In fourteen years this has grown from 15 dinners to 2555. Next year I hope we can help Robin set another record.

Another sponsor should also be noted here. Publix Supermarkets is where all the food is purchased and they give us a break on price, provide storage for warehousing of products, and give us the logistics by delivering the tractor trailer load to the Salvation Army. The staff and management go out of their way to help with this project, plus many Publix employees volunteered their time to help distribute the food. This charity would be almost impossible with out help from Publix Supermarkets.

Robin called and wanted me to pass on her thanks and her appreciation for our help. I responded with our thanks for her allowing us to be a part of this charity. Likewise, I personally want to thank all of you that donated for helping a worthy cause and making others' holidays more enjoyable. We can be proud that we made a big impact in helping to feed over 10,000 people this Thanksgiving. Happy holidays!

                                                                                    Bugman

Click here for a short video clip of the food distribution.

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