Blog Entry #15

     One of my fondest holiday memories, specifically Thanksgiving holidays, was a few years back. I was still in high school and was spending the holiday with my family. My aunt, who works for the local fire department, played a large part in a community food drive that prepared hot Thanksgiving meals to the underprivileged in our community. Dubbed The Big Heart Brigade, I had personally seen this program grow every year, reaching and helping more and more people every Thanksgiving. This effort, founded by the father of my aunt's boss, a local fire fighter, was started in 1992 in an effort to reach out to the citizens of Palm Beach and surrounding counties who would not otherwise have a hot Thanksgiving meal that so many of us enjoy.

 

      My memory consists of the visual of hundreds of selfless volunteers gathered along seemingly-endless rows of snap-up tables. These people were busy dishing out cranberry sauce, scooping stuffing, and pulling turkey to put into thousands of Styrofoam boxes. As my mom and brother and sister and I put on hair nets, plastic gloves, and got down to work, I couldn't help but feel so good for what we were doing. I knew that I had been pushed by my mom to work the event, as it was something she wanted to do as a family during the holiday season. But, after leaving there that day, I really saw how important it is to help others who are not as blessed as we are and what a difference a couple pair of hands can make. Every year since, my family and I have volunteered for The Big Heart Brigade in an effort to continue the work of good acts in my home community.