The community banded together on Thanksgiving to serve around 2,000 people a full meal at the Old Town Newhall Library as part of the 12th Giving Thanks Giving event.
Twelve different local churches came together to accomplish this feat, all spearheaded by Marc Botello with Heart of the Canyons Church, who was the event coordinator.
“Everything here is all done by the community,” said Botello.
Food was not the only attraction at the event though. There was live music, bike raffles and
arts and crafts for the whole community to enjoy.
It was not hard to spot children running around in handmade turkey hats in honor of the holiday.
The mission of the event goes beyond entertainment though. Clothes were available for the needy to pick up and many people were taking bags full of them in hopes that will be enough to make it until next year.
One such person was Milcah White, who came with her family and made sure to get some clothes while at the event.
“It just helped to buffer some things I had lost,” she said.
The last time she attended this event was as a volunteer four years ago. Now that her situation has changed a bit, she is grateful the same event is available to give her and her family a Thanksgiving experience.
“You’re just trying to be faithful to your budget,” she said.
Others were in attendance for different reasons like Robert Pounds. This was Pounds’s second year going to the event although he has lived in the Santa Clarita Valley practically his whole life.
“I watched everything being built,” he said.
He does not cook and has no family near him so it only makes sense that he spends Thanksgiving with the community he matured and grew up with.
Volunteering to serve people like Pounds has become an important feature of the holiday season for many families in the community, as is the case with Randi Baldwin, who came with her mom, dad and husband.
Last year she volunteered without her father present and was enthusiastic that her whole family is joining her this year.
“This is our new family tradition,” she said.
