WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Several local organizations teamed up Saturday to hand out a thousand turkeys to Medicaid recipients at the JB Wise Pavilion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love that the Urban Mission is doing this,\u201d said Medicaid Recipient Elizabeth Hardy. \u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of people in need right now. People just don\u2019t have the money to buy groceries and stuff because everything is going up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several organizations, including the Urban Mission, Healthy Alliance, and Modify Health, helped organize the event, as workers from each volunteered. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here to improve health and remove barriers from communities that face difficult situations,\u201d said Healthy Alliance CEO Erica Coletti.<\/p>\n
Initially, five hundred turkeys were to be given away but, Samaritan Medical Center matched the initial donation, bringing the total up to a thousand. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good thing too. Modify Health CEO G.B. Pratt, who helped organize the event, told us the turnout was even higher than expected. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we say an event starts at 10 and we see a line that is queued up at 7:30 to 8am, I think it certainly shows the need and enthusiasm,\u201d said Pratt. \u201cIt\u2019s just been a complete honor and we\u2019re thrilled with the turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putting a turkey on the table wasn\u2019t the only goal. Modify health also sought to make folks aware of certain Medicaid benefits they may not have known they qualified for.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we can connect them with free food, housing support, help finding housing, keeping housing, utility assistance,\u201d said Jen Lane, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Partnerships at Modify Health. \u201cThere\u2019s just this plethora of benefits available through the HRSN Program, it\u2019s not well known. We\u2019re trying to help people, get them out of their house, and see what we can do for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The giveaway continued until every turkey was taken home, just in time for the holiday. <\/p>\n
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