TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — ABC 27 partnered with Second Harvest and Creative Kids Foundation to turn donations from the annual turkey drive into full Thanksgiving boxes, providing food and hope to 1,500 local families.
- Donated turkeys from ABC 27's Turkey Drive were distributed Saturday, and monetary donations allowed Second Harvest to buy the remaining items.
- Second Harvest, 211 Big Bend, and Keiser University will cook and deliver meals to 1,000 families through its “Thankful Deliveries” program on Wednesday.
- Watch the video below to find out about a woman who has been out of work while battling stage 3 breast cancer, and how this distribution impacted her life.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
ABC 27 Annual Turkey Drive was our biggest one yet, helping us feed 1,500 families on Saturday.
I'm Lyric Sloan in Southwest Tallahassee at a Thanksgiving drive-thru distribution where families recovering from illness, those caring for other families, and many low-income households were able to receive the turkeys you donated, along with milk, eggs, vegetables, and other canned goods.
The line of cars stretches around the block. Each one caring families in need.
Volunteers move from window to window, trunk to trunk, turning donations into full Thanksgiving boxes that were put together from all of the turkeys donated during ABC 27 Annual Turkey Drive, all monetary donations allowed Second Harvest to purchase the other items families received Saturday.
"We can't really afford the Thanksgiving trappings and all that, but we want to do a meal for ourselves," Sara Baker said.
That was true for many of the cars I spoke with, but one stood out.
"I am going through cancer right now, stage three breast cancer, and I've been out of work since May," Deana Mckenzie.
Deana McKenzie says Saturday's assistance arrived at a life changing moment for her and her family, but
"Money has been really tight, so I just wanted to come here and just have a turkey so we can celebrate Thanksgiving," McKenzie said.
McKenzie says the meal is more than food. It's relief and a reminder of what Thanksgiving is about.
" It almost brought tears to my eyes to be able to have somewhere to go to get a Thanksgiving meal, because I love Thanksgiving," McKenzie said.
She says asking for help wasn't easy. She's normally the one to help people, but because of her breast cancer, she has had to rely on others.
"It impacts me a lot because I'm always so self-sufficient, and to have to ask for help is really hard for me," McKenzie said.
Relief didn't stop at the meal; she had even more to be thankful for.
"Just recently found out that I am cancer-free now, so I just have to go forward with the radiation treatment and the rest of it," McKenzie said.
ABC 27, Second Harvest, and Creative Kids Foundation partnered together to make this drive happen, and Second Harvest has one more thing in store for the holidays.
"Actually, Wednesday, we have a really special program called Thankful Deliveries, first of its kind for us, but we're actually teaming up with Keiser University, and they're going to be cooking meals for 1,000 families and 211 and their relationship with DoorDash, we're going to be doing doorstep deliveries on Wednesday next week," Monique Ellsworth, Second Harvest CEO, said.
Thankful deliveries is a new initiative this year that will have a major impact on families who weren't able to find transportation to Saturday's Food Drive, ensuring that all families have a meal on the table this Thanksgiving.
In Southwest Tallahassee, Lyric Sloan, ABC 27
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