How to Help a Family in Need Have a Thanksgiving Dinner

There is no better way to show your gratitude for all your blessings this year than to help a family in need celebrate Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey meal.

Things You'll Need

• Baskets
• Canned Goods
• Stuffings
• Turkeys
• Table Centerpieces
• Supermarket Gift Certificates

Instructions

1. Check with your church, synagogue or other religious group to find out if it is collecting donations for food baskets. If so, find out what's needed.

2. Buy several frozen turkeys or hams and bring them to the Rotary Club, Elks or another civic group to distribute as it sees fit.

3. Donate bags of potatoes, stuffing mix, bottles of soda, and ingredients for pies that people can use to make their own meals.

4. Offer canned goods such as vegetables and soups to charity drives or food kitchens in your area.

5. Prepare a basket on Thanksgiving with a fully cooked meal consisting of items such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce to give to a social service agency or civic group, which can deliver it to a family that would otherwise have nothing to eat.

6. Buy a gift certificate to a local supermarket for an organization to give to a family to select their own Thanksgiving food.

7. Contact organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the United Way, and the YMCA or YWCA and donate money for residents who need help.

8. Provide food for a Meals on Wheels program in your area. This organization delivers meals to people who are elderly or ill and can't leave their homes.

9. Volunteer to deliver a hot meal to a family in which the parents are homebound due to an accident or illness.

10. Donate money to a religious or civic group to host a community-wide dinner for people who have nowhere to go.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring a centerpiece, a fall plant or some other decoration to brighten up a family's table and get them into the spirit of the holiday.

• Consider volunteering at a soup kitchen or shelter on Thanksgiving Day.