WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – It’s all hands on deck at the Urban Mission.
Preparations are being made for Saturday’s huge turkey giveaway.
“This is over the top. We are super excited,” said Cher VanBrocklin, Executive Director of the Watertown Urban Mission.
One thousand turkeys are up for grabs. That’s double the initial 500 that were set to be given away to Medicaid recipients.
Several organizations, including the Urban Mission, Healthy Alliance, and Modify Health, helped organize the event.
“You go in excited, and then maybe that excitement breeds more excitement,” said Healthy Alliance CEO Erica Coletti.
The other 500 turkeys are donations from Samaritan Medical Center. It’s been treating its staff members with turkey for decades.
“What better way to bring that appreciation to our community, those in need, who could really use the help this season, by donating another 500 to the community for an already popular giveaway,” said Leslie DiStefano, Spokesperson with Samaritan Medical Center.
The turkeys will be given to those on Medicaid. Organizers say they’ll be getting much more than the Thanksgiving staple.
“They’re getting not only the food now for the holidays, but they’re going to get plugged in for, potentially, benefits up to six months, even up to a year’s worth of food depending on their eligibility,” said Rafael Cavour, Vice President of Healthcare Partnerships at Modify Health.
Price Chopper also joined in on the giving, donating a $500 gift card and 80 bags of groceries to the Urban Mission food pantry.
“We’ve had 727 households come through just from November 1 to November 20, and 220 of those were new families, have never been to the food pantry before, so that kind of shows you the increase in need,” said VanBrocklin.
Those with Healthy Alliance, which works to improve health in communities that are facing barriers, hope those who come for a turkey leave with more knowledge and resources.
“We’ll be there to screen folks too, so that if we can get into folks who are eligible for these other services, that can continue, housing support, utility support for up to six months if someone is eligible. If we can talk to folks and find out, there are ways that can go beyond this holiday season,” said Coletti.
The giveaway will be held at the J.B. Wise Pavilion. It starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, November 22, and goes until all 1,000 turkeys have been given out.
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