Wilmington, Nov. 21, 2009 – The Wilmington Jaycees and Governor Jack Markell teamed up with West End Neighborhood House on Saturday morning to distribute Thanksgiving baskets – complete with turkeys and traditional side dishes – to 300 needy Delaware families.
Jaycee members arrived just after sunup to create the baskets with an assembly line of volunteers and West End staff. When the doors opened at 10:00 a.m., Governor Markell and volunteers handed baskets out to a long line of West End customers.
“A Thanksgiving feast is something so many people take for granted, but it’s way out of reach for a lot of families that are struggling to make ends meet this year,” said Adam Zewe, the Wilmington Jaycees Thanksgiving coordinator. “For the families that receive Thanksgiving food baskets from West End and the Wilmington Jaycees, it’s about more than a meal – it’s about making their whole holiday season a little bit brighter.”
To purchase the food for the baskets, Wilmington Jaycee members held food drives at Pathmark, Acme and Super Giant stores in the Wilmington area. They also held a fundraiser and received sponsorship from Bright Fields, Inc., Harvey Hannah & Associates and Koons Lexus of Wilmington.
The Wilmington Jaycees is an 82-year-old organization of 21-39 year olds who are dedicated to volunteering and serving their communities. They have partnered with West End every Thanksgiving for over a decade.
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