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GPHC Needs Thanksgiving Volunteers And Donations

By Sierra Fleenor

Executive Director, GPHC, Inc.

In 2013, Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. held its first official Thanksgiving Giveaway. We served 57 families that year. By 2016, that number had grown to over 200 families.

Last year, we distributed more than 327 Thanksgiving boxes to our neighbors, which provided approximately 1,200 people with everything needed for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. That’s 300 turkeys, nine turkey breasts, 161 frozen pies, 200 fresh rolls, 515 pounds of fresh vegetables and about 4,735 cans, boxes and packets.

Collectively, last year 110 volunteers donated 276 hours over the course of two weeks. Over 65 individuals and organizations made in-kind and financial donations to make this happen.

Our Thanksgiving Giveaway is an integral part of the services we offer at GPHC. This occasion provides our neighbors with opportunities to volunteer, donate, or receive food, according to their needs and capacity.

It is our goal to ensure as many families as possible enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner provided by their neighbors and GPHC. We are already on track to blow last year out of the water. We anticipate serving nearly 400 families this year.

So what, you may ask, can you do to help? We accept donations of food items, gift cards to supermarkets such as King Soopers, Safeway and Sprouts, and good old cash money. Financial donations give us the capacity to manage the amount of food we have on-site during this busy time of year and to buy exactly what we need, when we need it.

For in-kind donations, we are looking for all the items that go into a traditional Thanksgiving dinner – from frozen turkeys to stuffing, to gravy packets, to frozen pies and pans for cooking the turkey. We are requesting most donations by Nov. 12, so we can start delivering boxes to schools the following day. All boxes will have been delivered or picked up by the end of the day on Tuesday, Nov. 20.

We accept in-kind donations at the GPHC office Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We know that many of you are busy during this time of year, so for your convenience, we also have special drop-off times for frozen turkeys (and other donations). Swing by Cake Crumbs (2216 Kearney St.) before work or on your way to drop off the kids (or the dogs) and donate a frozen turkey and any other items to make a neighbor’s Thanksgiving complete. One of our awesome volunteers will be at Cake Crumbs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Monday, Nov. 12 through Friday, Nov. 16 to accept your donations of frozen turkeys, other canned goods, and gift cards.

If you are interested in volunteering, including helping assemble and deliver boxes, we have many opportunities throughout the month of November for adults, adults with children, and school and youth groups. We hope you and yours will join us this year in making Thanksgiving a very special occasion for our community.

For a complete list of our needs for Thanksgiving and to sign up to volunteer, please give us a call at 303-388-0918, stop by our office located at 2823 Fairfax Street, email us at info@greaterparkhill.org or check out our website at greaterparkhill.org/programs/thanksgiving.