For most of us, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all the great things we are fortunate to have. We think about are family and friends. We think about our children and our brothers and sisters. Unfortunately for many YOTO students, Thanksgiving is just another day. They don’t get the chance to be with loved ones and share a great meal.
This year, we wanted to give some of our students a chance to experience a nice Thanksgiving meal and so we put together over 40 boxes of food and ingredients so they can put together their own feast.
After putting out a call to our students inviting them to receive, “Thanksgiving in a Box,” 47 students signed up. Each box contained popular Thanksgiving staples like cranberry sauce, green beans, corn, stuffing, dinner rolls, gravy and apple cider. And of course, we didn’t forget about the main dish and dessert! Each student also got a gift card to buy a rotisserie chicken and a pie from the grocery store. With each box we included some instructions to help them prepare their meal and also some tips for getting creative with leftovers. They were all very excited to receive their boxes.
It’s always fun to try something new. Providing a Thanksgiving meal isn’t a regular part of the YOTO program but it’s an example of how YOTO is coming up with new and innovative ways to show youth that there are people out there who care about them.
