Help Fill a Blessing Basket This Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, some of our neighbors will spend the holiday alone, without a warm meal on the table. Many are living with serious mental illness alongside tight budgets, unstable housing, and a long trip to the nearest food pantry. A holiday meal can feel out of reach.
You can change that.
Click here to fill a Blessing Basket
Blessing Baskets began last year, when our Core Services Agency team, the staff in direct contact with clients every week, noticed how many of the people they support were heading into Thanksgiving alone, with nothing special on the table. So they did something about it.
With local support from Wegmans and money out of their own pockets, they assembled 22 baskets and delivered them by hand in the days before Thanksgiving, 19 to families and 3 to seniors living on their own.
Our staff asked each client beforehand what they actually wanted, so no two baskets were alike. Several people told us it was the first full holiday meal they’d shared with family in years.
What began as one team’s idea is now something we look forward to all year, and this Thanksgiving is our second.
What’s inside a basket
Each basket holds a full Thanksgiving dinner, a ham or turkey with all the sides, finished with holiday touches for the table. This year we’re adding winter essentials too, warm clothing and small comforts to help clients through the season.
Every basket is put together for the person receiving it, chosen just for them.
A growing need
The need has only grown over the past year. Recent cuts to SNAP benefits have put a healthy holiday meal out of reach for many of the households we work with. For someone already carrying the weight of isolation, a knock on the door and a meal chosen just for them can change the whole season.
This year we’re aiming to reach at least 25 client families, delivered the week of Thanksgiving, November 23-26, and more if we can reach them.
Will you help?
About $55 covers a full basket. Give today, and help us bring a blessing to one more family’s table.
Ways to help
- Give toward the baskets. Any amount helps us reach another family.
- Lend a hand. We need a few volunteers to help deliver baskets the week of November 23, and to wrap gifts in December.
- Shop the wishlist. A few small comforts go a long way.
Thank you for being part of this. Questions? Reach out to anaglieri@mcclendoncenter.org.
Our sponsors
An effort like this only happens with real support behind it. Thanks to our generous local sponsors Anasazi Hotels and Wegmans, Blessing Baskets is back again this year.
Your gifts can help carry it the rest of the way.
