On Oct. 21, 2009, SFR covered
Face the Homeless
, a traveling exhibition of portraits of Santa Fe's homeless (
) by local photographer Cathy Maier Callanan. The folks at Outside Magazine, namely founder and chairman Larry Burke, took notice. In an effort to help the homeless this holiday season, Burke got in touch with Callanan, who then directed him to Gaile Herling at the ¡Adelante! Program at Santa Fe Public Schools, which deals with families affected by homelessness. There are over 1,000 homeless kids in Santa Fe.
Long story short, Outside magazine is kicking off its first-ever Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Giveaway, an event that it hopes will become an annual event, says administrative assistant Le'a Green. Even in the not-so-great economy, individuals, local businesses and large companies alike have all come together to provide a Thanksgiving dinner to 100 families that are affected by homelessness in one way or another.
Outside is donating 100 turkeys (on which it received a great discount from Albertsons). Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Sunflower Farmers Market have all chipped in. The Anasazi restaurant is baking all the bread and making gravy. Chocolate Maven is serving up its famous potates (chef Peter Zimmer, Green says, is always contrubiting to good causes; "He's just that kind of person," she says). By Tuesday morning, Outside and ¡Adelante! will have amassed 100 pies—30 of which are being baked by one person! Massage therapist Geri Eigenberger is using her two ovens to make 30 pies (and apparently she gives a mean massage too, according to Green).
Green says that each of the 100 families, who were chosen from ¡Adelante!'s client list based on need, has five members each—so the 100 Thanksgiving dinners will ultimately benefit 500 people. The meals will all be ready to go by Tuesday morning, and families will pick them up Tuesday afternoon. If a family can't make it to the ¡Adelante! offices (address below), the meal will be delivered to them.
The holidays are a warm and happy time for many of us, but it's not the case for everyone in our community. Not many of us have a huge surplus of money laying around right now, but even a drop in the bucket—a can of soup here, a dollar or two there—can make a huge difference.
"The way things are financially for everybody," Green says, "we are reminded that some people are having a more challenging time than we might be having."
¡Adelante!
1300 Camino Sierra Vista
467-2571
989-7100
St. Elizabeth's Shelter for the Homeless
804 Alarid St.
982-6611
