The Abilene Veteran’s Thanksgiving Day Dinner is Still in Dire Need of Money
The annual Veteran's Thanksgiving Day Dinner will take place this year, however in the future it may be a thing of the past in Abilene, if local organizers can't raise the necessary funds to support such an event. According to Jimmy DeFoor with the Taylor County Veterans Service Office, he says over the years, donations have fallen off and the same goes for volunteers. While this years feast has been saved the future of the event is still on questionable grounds. There has also been a drain in support from volunteers and the local Abilene area businesses. There's not enough money to pay for the Thanksgiving meal that costs about $10,000. In the past the Veterans Thanksgiving day meal was backed by local grocery giant H-E-B, but the company no longer sponsors the dinner nor does it give DeFoor a discounted price on the necessary foods to put on the meal. The organization is forced to pay full retail price for everything.
This year several people have pulled together to insure the Veteran's Thanksgiving Dinner is a go. The dinner is open to everyone in Abilene (not just Veterans) that have no place to go for a festive Holiday meal. Everyone is invited to the Abilene Civic Center on Thanksgiving day for a free meal. Connie Rose a local Realtor with Keller Williams called me the minute she heard the dinner was cancelled to get the word out that we must all do what we can to keep this dinner going on. Connie said "to some people especially some vets this meal means the world to them. We can't just let it die, we all got to do something, so please, put it out over your radio and tell people to either give or volunteer."
The call went out and the dinner is on for 2012. Furthermore, Miss Rose reminded me of the importance of raising the money and awareness early for next years Veterans Thanksgiving Day Dinner. If you'd like to help this year or next year or you'd like a free Thanksgiving dinner, here are all the details.
Information
Event
The Veterans Thanksgiving Day Dinner
Location
Dates and Times
Wednesday, November 21st. Food prep volunteers needed from 10 AM till 2 PM
Thursday, November 22nd. Server, clean-up volunteers needed from 7 AM till 3 PM
Thursday Thanksgiving day Nov. 22nd. Dinner will be served from 11 AM till 3 PM.
More Info.
To donate and/or volunteer you can always contact the Taylor County Veteran Services Office and ask for Jimmy DeFoor at (325)695-3252 or Connie Rose at (325)627-6556. The Veterans Thanksgiving Day dinner is not limited to just veterans only, it's held for the entire community and everyone is invited to attend.
More From KEAN 105
