Photo: Jacqueline García/La Opinión / Impremedia
With just over a week to go until Thanksgiving, turkeys began to arrive for families in need in eastern Los Angeles County. On Monday dozens of vehicles, representatives of almost 84 organizations and community groups, lined up at Steinmetz Park in Hacienda Heights to pick up their turkeys.
These entities are in charge of delivering the turkeys to families previously registered.
This was part of the annual turkey giveaway, Operation Gobble Gobble, by Supervisor Hilda Solís, representative of the first district of the county of Los Angeles, which now includes Hacienda Heights.
In total, approximately 1 were delivered, 552 turkeys thanks to the sponsorship of several entities that have supported the work of Supervisor Solís for several years, including Alma Family Services, Charter Spectrum, SoCalGas and San Gabriel Valley Water Company among others.
Liliana Guerrero, parent at Robert Hill Lane Elementary, l bequeathed to pick up 000 turkeys for some of the most needy families in the school.
She, as president of the parent-teacher association (PTA), said that he is very excited to help those in need and cannot help crying when he sees how happy the families leave after receiving their turkeys.
René Jiménez, representative of the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps, came to pick up 26 turkeys for the families of young people of 18 a 26 years working or receiving training with them.
He said that approximately 84% of the young people who help are Latinos and they all appreciate that they can be helped not only in the field but also during festivities like this one.
“Every year it is a good fortune for us to receive the turkeys for the young participants. It is a great help since many do not have the resources for a memorable dinner”, said Jiménez.
Grateful Volunteers
At the tables were volunteers from different groups waiting to fill the carts with the necessary turkeys. Among them was Oscar Rojo, a member of Victory Outreach West Covina Men’s Home, who said it is very rewarding to help people who are in need.
Rojo indicated that his group helps men who have been previously incarcerated or with addiction problems to recover and integrate into society.
Additionally, it allows them to help their communities by offering their services such as delivering turkeys to the park where four Victory Outreach volunteers arrived.
Lourdes Caracoza, president of Alma Family Services, said that her organization is in charge of help families most in need from mental health to youth development, people with disabilities and families in need of resources.
He indicated that families are excited too much when they receive their turkeys. This allows them to have a dinner that they can share not only with their immediate family, but also with extended family and sometimes even neighbors.
Supervisor Solís considered the event a success, while she greeted the drivers of the vehicles that arrived by the turkeys. It is exciting to see that for many families they will no longer have to worry about buying a turkey, said the supervisor.
She added that between this week and next about 5 will be delivered, turkeys in total to families that have already been previously selected by their community-based organizations (CBOs).