Turkeys in the House!

Nov. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- When you have a friend starting a new business or a special occasion, house parties are de rigueur but what about a “Turkey Party” to help others? The Redwood Gospel Mission really encourages folks to get creative with their ideas for helping the poor and needy. It is a way to put the “Fun” back into Fund-raising!

A host or hostess opens their house on a drop-in basis, spreads the word throughout the community, and voilà: hundreds of people show up to support your cause, eat, and socialize.

For Denise Redeker, Petaluma, there are a few friends who help her organize, decorate and bake. In addition, Denise mobilizes her local restaurants and grocery stores to donate food and beverages to serve her guests. Her guests donate a turkey to gain admittance.

This is the Seventh Annual Turkey Party for Redeker and friends. Each year it grows in numbers of people and pounds of turkey. Her local newspaper writes articles describing her endeavors. Denise also keeps a blog so guests can keep up with her preparations. (www.turkeyparty.blogspot.com)

At Wayne Rowlands’ house in Santa Rosa, the party takes on a slightly different tone. Guests are asked to bring an appetizer or beverage to add to the party’s refreshments. At two turkeys per guest, the pile grows quickly. There is ample opportunity to network since many guests are from local community groups such as the Rotary and Lions clubs.

At both parties, representatives of Redwood Gospel Mission (www.srmission.org) are present with a refrigerated truck to haul away the cache of birds once the festivities end. Where do all the turkeys go?

The Redwood Gospel Mission oversees an annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet for the poor and needy. This event brings together 400-500 volunteers, over 1,000 families, and approximately 4,500 guests for a hot turkey dinner, free haircuts, kid’s activities, a Christian message and more. It takes about 1,300 turkeys to serve everyone that day and to distribute one to each low-income family.

Thanks to parties like Denise’s and Wayne’s, families get a traditional turkey dinner and some groceries to take home for their own Thanksgiving celebration. There are many other groups and individuals who get creative about their Turkey goals and help “raise turkeys”, too.

The Cruisin’ North Car Club, Inc (www.cruisinnorth.org) takes donations from their members, families and friends, and then buys a few dozen birds. The turkeys are loaded into their pre-1979, American-made, classic cars and trucks. They are quite the sight when they drive up to the front door of the Mission!

There are individuals who donate, and encourage their friends to help, in order to purchase turkeys. “Once you convert the turkeys to how many mouths will be fed, the results are staggering!” comments Cathleen Jones, Development Officer for the Redwood Gospel Mission.

A local radio station gets in on the action as well. Brent Farris, KZST (www.kzst.com), encourages the morning show listeners to donate turkeys in the “Ton of Turkeys” challenge. Local churches and businesses mobilize their members and employees to do the same.

The result is this: a community who is more aware and compassionate about those who are less fortunate; and that benefits us all.

To attend one of the parties mentioned in this article, use the following contacts:
Denise Redeker, deniseredeker@msn.com
Wayne Rowlands, rowlands@sbcglobal.net
You can drop-off your turkeys at the Redwood Gospel Mission, 101 Sixth St, Santa Rosa, CA, between 9 am and 5 pm, seven days a week.

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Founded in 1963, the Redwood Gospel Mission mobilizes our community to minister to the needy so that lives are transformed. Services include: Men's Shelter, Women/children Shelter, Men & Women Residential Recovery, Thrift Store, and Outreach Events.