This Year The Plainfield Turkey Drop will be Collecting Frozen Turkeys the Saturday Before Thanksgiving,
November 18 at the Plainfield Moose Lodge
PLAINFIELD– Twenty-four years ago, in 1999, the Ford Family of Plainfield brought two turkeys to the Morningstar Mission in Joliet for their Thanksgiving. The next year, friends and family offered to help the Mission as well, and the Ford Family put together the idea of a Turkey Drop to help donate for Thanksgiving dinners to those in need.
Each year since its inception, the number of donated turkeys has grown steadily. Last year, over 600 turkeys were collected. The Fords hosted the drop for ten years until it got too big for one family to handle. Now the men and women of the Plainfield Moose Lodge, along with the Ford family, host the event every year. With so many turkeys being collected, donations can benefit more local groups including, the Plainfield Food Pantry, St. John’s Church, and the Plainfield School District 202 families through Bags of Hope for the distribution of Thanksgiving baskets.
“You may have heard the saying, ‘A burden heavy to one is borne lightly by many,’” says Anthony Scala, Chairperson for the Turkey Drop and past Governor/President of the Plainfield Moose Lodge 2491. “This saying is at the core of the Moose organization and what makes us unique in our Lodges and local communities.” The Moose organization is about caring for one another’s needs and celebrating life together and with a membership of over a million members, their presence is felt in over 1500 communities across all 50 states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain. “My favorite part is to see the faces of satisfaction from the families that are donating and the sense of gratitude of those receiving. It’s a time when families should be together around the table for the holidays,” says Scala.
This year The Plainfield Turkey Drop will be collecting frozen turkeys the Saturday before Thanksgiving, November 18th from 10am-2pm at the Plainfield Moose Lodge at 16310 S. Lincoln Highway. Cash donations are also accepted, and the money collected will be used to purchase additional turkeys. Making a cash donation NOW instead of the day of the drop in November is appreciated so banking can be done and turkeys can be reserved. Please make checks payable to the Plainfield Turkey Drop (not the Moose) and mail them to the Lodge address above. Any additional information can be found on their website.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
ABOUT THE WRITER
Mindy Kyle is passionate about helping people discover what brings them joy and to live a full, healthy and happy life. She has her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from DePaul University and is a veteran of Chicago’s theater and commercial world as well as a graduate of the Second City Improv School. Mindy lives in Naperville with her husband, three children and the cutest dogs in the land.
