Turkey on the Table – Eight Binghampton Orgs Provide Meals For More Than 200 Binghampton Families

On Saturday morning, Nov. 22, the skies were gray, but the smiles were bright as families picked up turkeys and sides for to prepare for their Thanksgiving celebration.

The Turkey and Sides Give Away took place from the Lester Campus parking lot of Cornerstone Preparatory Academy. More than 30 volunteers assembled and distributed approximately 200 Thanksgiving meal packs that included turkeys given by an anonymous donor and approximately 1,000 pounds of side items collected from the community at large.

“For each of the 200 Binghampton-area families who received the Thanksgiving meal package, four to five people will be fed, meaning that this drive impacts close to 1,000 community residents” said Ayanna Murray, interim executive director of the Carpenter Art Garden.

Lists of families in need of help were assembled by the local service organizations. These people were in turn contacted to register for the give-away.

The drive was coordinated by the staff and board of the Carpenter Art Garden. The participating and supporting organizations were the Binghampton Development Corporation; Lester Prep, Binghampton Christian and Cornerstone Prep Schools; the Center for Transforming Communities; the Binghampton Community Church and the Neighborhood Christian Center.

Written comments about the Turkey and Sides Give Away from the registration forms include:

“…my family is so grateful for what your organization is doing for the community, for government workers who are not receiving pay at this time”

“I think this is a great impact on our community that they are willing to help people in need while our government is shut down.”

“This is JUST what the community needed. There are families who are considering not celebrating the holidays because of financial hardships. So, to me this is the holiday miracle some of us need.”

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