The Russell Rowland team is passionate about supporting our community, and this year’s drive reinforced just how incredible collective generosity truly is. We collected turkeys to donate to local organizations across our area.
You’ve created something historic! We’re excited to reveal the final tally of 506 turkeys distributed to families who needed them! Your thoughtful contributions were divided as follows: the Betty Griffin Center got 12 turkeys, Celebration Church – Christ’s Cupboard got 40 turkeys, Feeding Northeast Florida got 130 turkeys, the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County got 25 turkeys, the Mandarin Food Bank got 150 turkeys, and San Jose Elementary got 149 turkeys.
The work being done by the Mandarin Food Bank is nothing short of remarkable. Their focus is on supplying emergency food and clothing to those in need throughout the Mandarin Community. In addition to feeding families, they distribute duffle bags packed with necessary items to migrant workers and operate a Life Skills program designed to help people build more promising futures.
Watching this program grow has been absolutely amazing! We began with 22 turkeys in 2020, progressed to 75 in 2021, achieved 142 in 2022, reached 258 in 2023, and now we’ve hit an outstanding 506 turkeys in 2024! This illustrates what we can achieve when our community works in unity.
Thanksgiving can be particularly tough for families struggling financially, and knowing we contributed comfort and sustenance to their holiday meals brings us tremendous gratitude. By joining forces, we helped ensure local families had food on their tables for Thanksgiving.
Gratitude is something we carry every day, and we want to thank each and every person who donated a turkey and helped us in our mission to feed hungry families. This wouldn’t have happened without you. Special recognition goes to Lori Rowland with St. Joseph Catholic School and Jim Efstathion with Bowing Oaks for offering critical freezer storage that made this initiative successful! Your generosity made this year’s Turkey Drive our biggest achievement yet, and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow this tradition for years to come!