1700 Reasons to Be Thankful: YMCA Volunteers Pack Thanksgiving Meals

This week, volunteers and staff from the South Shore YMCA gathered at a local warehouse to pack 1700 Thanksgiving meals to be donated and distributed to local families throughout the South Shore and through our South Shore Y Food Pantry at the Germantown Neighborhood Center in Quincy.

For nearly a decade, the South Shore YMCA has collaborated with community partner Alma Nove to accomplish this amazing feat, which includes securing Thanksgiving meal ingredients — including 1700 frozen turkeys — building boxes, finding refrigerated trucks for delivery, and rallying volunteers to do some heavy lifting.

“It’s joyful,” said South Shore YMCA President and CEO, Paul Gorman. “Lifting and boxing hundreds of frozen turkeys is hard work, but the volunteers are laughing and smiling the whole time. We are fortunate to have such caring volunteers and partners, and this annual event really shows just how much the community truly cares for one another.”

Year after year, many of the same smiling faces reunite to pack boxes, some bringing children and grandchildren to share the experience with the next generation of givers.

Michelle Daley, Membership Director for the South Shore Y Emilson branch, helped run this year’s event, and felt a sense of pride as she watched the team at work. “Everyone is so happy to be here, and they are working so hard, but it doesn’t feel like work. It feels amazing.”

Volunteers create an assembly line to sort, lift and box up Thanksgiving meals all day and into the night. Fourteen items are placed in each box: a whole turkey, stuffing, gravy, chicken stock, seasoning, butter, carrots, onions, celery, squash, potatoes, cranberry sauce, cider, and rutabaga. Boxes are sealed, stacked on pallets, then placed in trucks for delivery the next day.

Everyone has a job to do, from assembling boxes to cleaning up the mountains of trash from food cases and produce sacks. It is a big production to be set up and completed in one day. But, at the end of the day, each volunteer feels joy knowing they made it possible for families in need to enjoy a family meal on Thanksgiving.

“We tell our volunteers not to just fill the box with the items, but to pack the box with love,” said Chief Development Officer, Mary Orne.  “It is a special package – one that provided an opportunity for people to gather with family and friends and share a meal together.”

Some of the recipients of these boxes live in senior housing and cannot get to the grocery store to purchase items needed for a full Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. Others are struggling to make ends meet, especially with the rising cost of groceries. This program ensures that everyone in our community is able to enjoy a true Thanksgiving meal.

It is an honor for our Y to be part of this experience each year. It shows that when we work together to serve our community, we can accomplish so much more.

The team at the South Shore YMCA wishes you all a wonderful holiday season.