Brian Cross, a Common Heart Board Member, shares his thoughts leading up to Saturday’s 14th annual Great Turkey Countdown…our biggest delivery day of the year! 

How are you showing your gratitude this Thanksgiving season?  At Thanksgiving, we gather at the table with our families, break bread and share our joys.  The Great Turkey Countdown is an opportunity for you to serve others and demonstrate your thankfulness.

This will be my 3rd Great Turkey Countdown since becoming part of Common Heart’s “small revolution of kindness.”  Every year on that brisk November morning, I see the love when we pool our time, treasure and resources together to allow our neighbors to share a meal with their own families.

From the moment I arrived at the Great Turkey Countdown last year, I could feel the energy and joy of the crowd.  I watched on as excited Boy Scouts scrambled to pack cars with the lightning efficiency of a pit crew. I saw friends and neighbors laugh and dance as they packed boxes into cars.  People from every age and background working side by side to get a neighbor a meal.  It’s the type of optimism in the American spirit we don’t see enough of.

We set a table in our hearts for others when we provide food to those in need. Whether you are stacking boxes, directing traffic, or delivering the meals and joy throughout our community, that act opens up hearts and feeds the soul. This year, Common Heart extends our reach through our new Eastern Union Economic Empowerment Center in Marshville.  We’re reaching out to hug more of our neighbors!

Together we are going to feed 1,500 families this year! I invite you to show your thanks and serve others, by signing up to volunteer or providing the $30 donation to give a local family in need everything they need to prepare their own Thanksgiving feast.   

How do you and your family plan to show your thanks this season? 

To donate a Thanksgiving meal or sign up to volunteer to serve at our new Marshville facility (Indian Trail is full), visit: Turkeys.CommonHeart.org.