Frederick County Progressives

and

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick

Present

Turkey Drive 2017

The Thanksgiving season is one in which we look back over the year to recognize the things that we are thankful for. For those of us with the Frederick County Progressives Team it is that so many, especially here in Frederick, have decided to stand up and be the change that we want to see in our town, country, and world; to show that Frederick is a kind, caring, and welcoming community, not just in our words, but in our deeds.

To that end, in lieu of our General Membership Meeting for November, we are partnering with the Unitarian Universalists Congregation of Frederick to put on Turkey Drive 2017. We will be delivering individually boxed Thanksgiving meals to those in need. We will also be serving a Thanksgiving meal at the UUCF for anyone in the community who wishes to participate in this giving and sharing event.

We invite our friends in the local activist community, any others who wish to give back to the community that we all love, and anyone in the community who would like company on the holiday to join us.

How to get involved

We know that the holiday can be a very busy time for many, with family and travel, so we wanted to organize the event so that there are ways for nearly everyone to take part.

1. Monetary Donations – We will be buying food to make the boxed meals and the amount of meals we are able to create and bring out to those who need them depends on how much we are able to raise. Some of the cooking will be done the day before, making trays of food that we can heat up on Thursday morning to be able to get meals out earlier in the day, and to have food ready to go. We will be buying in bulk to stretch our donation money as far as possible. Details will be shared on how monetary donations can be made in the very near future.

2. Food Donations – Due to the need for food safety, we will only be serving food that has been prepared following FDA guidelines, in proper facilities, so we unfortunately won’t be able to accept food made at home. However, as Frederick is a food destination, any restaurant or grocery store that has an approved kitchen or food preparation facility who would like to participate can contact us to donate a tray of turkey or sides that we can collect on Wednesday, to refrigerate and reheat on Thursday, thus not needing to impact holiday vacation for workers.

3. Cook Team – Getting all these meals made is going to take some help. While we will be buying some food already prepared from grocery stores, some we will be preparing some food at the UUCF on Wednesday and additional hands would be helpful! We may also want some help collecting trays of food from any restaurants that are able to donate.

4. Prep Team – While we will be taking care of working with local agencies to compile a list of requested recipients, there are still logistics that will be needed to organize groups of meals to go out and make sure that everyone on the list receives a meal. That includes help with organizing efficient grouping of addresses for delivery, providing Drivers with easy to follow lists, making sure lists are paired with the correct number of meals, and helping with directions or other aspects. This is a great way for someone who can spare a few hours on Wednesday to help with prep or for someone who wishes to attend the meal on Thursday to help things run smoothly.

5. Drive Team – To be able to deliver as many meals as possible, our plan is to divide the meal delivery up into manageable chunks. 4-5 homes or community locations per driver, possibly more if they are grouped closely enough. If we have enough volunteers, we can pair people up so one person drives and the other brings the meals to the door. This is a great way for those whose time on Thanksgiving is limited to participate, as we expect that it should only be a 1-2 hour commitment. You could do so while your own turkey is in the oven and family members are busy watching a football game. Or even if you just need an excuse to get out of an overcrowded house for a few hours.

This is our first time trying to organize a charity event of this type and we cannot do it alone. As you can see, there are a wide variety of ways to help, and levels of time commitment that can accommodate help from most anyone.

Once you have RSVP'd, please sign up for one or more teams based on how you would like to help.

Any business, restaurant, individual, or group who shares our vision of what Frederick is, and what it can be, and who are willing to provide help in the form of donations or help we will gladly add as an affiliate to the event.

We ask that you share this far and wide and invite people who would be interested in helping or receiving a meal. 

NOTE: RSVP if you plan on attending the meal at UUCF or would like to receive a meal delivered. To Volunteer, look below.

Looking to Volunteer? Click here to go to the volunteer page. 

Just looking to donate money? Click here to go to the donation page.