MLK Jr. Youth Center hosts annual Northend Thanksgiving feast
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The decades-long tradition of hosting the Northend Free Thanksgiving Feast continued at the Martin Luther King Junior Youth Center.
The Rotary Club and Arizona@Work, along with numerous other sponsors, teamed up to help feed locals this Thanksgiving.
They offered free Thanksgiving meals, photo booths and raffled off free bicycles.
Susan James, the wife of a Veteran, shares how much it meant to receive these gifts on thanksgiving day.
“It feels really, really great to be able to be together as a family at a dinner for Thanksgiving and to even get a bike from the volunteers that provided these bikes for the Veterans,” says James.
Meanwhile, Thelma Lundy, another volunteer, says she is happy to help out.
“It’s so important to give back to the community, and when you see people coming in, you see those beautiful faces and all those smiles you say, ‘Man, I’m making a difference,” said Lundy.
She describes why it is so crucial to help out when you can.
“People are in need, a lot of people don’t have food on the table, and if we can give them a decent meal, a good meal, that makes a world of difference,” Lundy says.
The event also included face painting, coloring, and other fun family-friendly activities. It also serves as a learning opportunity for future generations.
“We know the struggle in our past lives so they all want to teach their families to give back so we have a lot of youth volunteers serving, so they can learn how to serve in their community when they grow older,” says Barbara Rochester, a volunteer at the event for the Yuma Farmers Market.
The event was from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you would like help out or participate next year, make sure to reach out to Arizona@Work, or Barbara Rochester.