(Photo Credit: Jon SooHoo)
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, in partnership with Ralphs/Food 4 Less, hosted the 12th annual Community Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway on Tuesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Dodger Alumni League members Ron Cey and Eric Karros, in addition to Dodger broadcaster Charley Steiner, were on hand to help distribute a complimentary turkey, fixings and reusable canvas bags to 1,200 pre-selected families and non-profit community organizations, who in turn distributed them to Los Angeles-area families in need.
“As we approach the holidays, most of us start dreaming of huddling around fires and feasts, even in sunny southern California,” said Naomi Rodriguez, Dodger vice president of external affairs and community relations. “But there are so many families in the Los Angeles area who cannot afford to give their families this holiday dream. The Dodgers look forward to giving turkey dinners to families every Thanksgiving. It’s one of the many ways we say thank you to our city.”
The Dodgers partnered with the offices of Mayor Eric Garcetti, Senator Kevin de León, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez and Congressman Xavier Becerra for the turkey giveaway. Each office selected organizations in its respective district to benefit. Turkeys and fixings were also provided to pre-selected students in the Dodgers’ “Community of Schools,” a strategic community partnership to improve the education and wellness of children attending local schools and living in communities surrounding Dodger Stadium. Families from the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation’s youth baseball and softball program, Dodgers RBI (Reviving Baseball In Inner Cities), were also pre-selected to receive turkeys and fixings.
Levy Restaurants provided all turkey dinner recipients with complimentary Dodger dogs.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, another turkey giveaway took place at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation staff and Dodgers’ Alumni Al Ferrara and Dennis Powell signed autographs and orchestrated the distribution of 10,000 free holiday turkeys to families in Compton and surrounding communities.
Representatives from Progress California were on hand to provide thousands of free blood pressure and diabetes tests, also sharing information on insurance enrollment.
(Yvonne Carrasco furnished some information provided in this report)
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