Dear Friends,
Thanks to the incredible support from volunteers and donors within our industry and surrounding community we have been blessed with the opportunity to share God's love with hundreds of members of the backstretch and their families this Thanksgiving.
Coordinating this effort from the confines of our trailer, (with construction of our first dedicated building happily well underway) requires months of coordination and logistical planning. Every inch of the trailer, all available vehicles, and a storage unit provided by NYTHA was used and supplemented by space provided by NYRA at the Belmont Clubhouse.
Thanksgiving teamwork prevailed and we are grateful to everyone who made possible all of these outreach programs during this past week: Packing day event on Saturday where 300 bags of food were assembled, Thanksgiving luncheon for our teen mentoring program also on Saturday in the Belmont clubhouse, food distribution day on Monday where the bags were distributed to the families of the backstretch, Thanksgiving luncheon provided by NYTHA on Tuesday attended by over 500 individuals of the backstretch, and the first-ever Thanksgiving Day dinner in Saratoga for the families of the Gary Gullo-managed GMP Stables which is underway today.
This year for the first time we were blessed to be able to provide fully prepared hot Thanksgiving meals to our families as a part of our Thanksgiving distribution of groceries and turkeys. Thank you to Marc Holliday, Chairman of the Board of NYRA, for his generous support and for connecting the backstretch community with Food 1st Foundation which funded the 1,000 delicious meals prepared and delivered by Marlow Bistro.
Thank you to The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation for their financial support and donation of 400 bags which were used for the distribution of the turkeys and to Executive Director Shannon Kelly who, true to form, not only facilitated the donations but was here in person with her family to greet the backstretch community and hand out the food,
Our thanks go out to our own Board Chairman, Terry Finley, who together with his wife Debbie provided a generous grant which was matched by donations from the amazing team of the partners of West Point Thoroughbreds.
Much gratitude goes to Bob Scavetta and the Rainbow's End Stable team for their donation of knitted hats which were distributed at the Thanksgiving Luncheon for members of the backstretch community, to Bob Monahan and the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council and Kiwanis 3-2-1 Club of Ridgewood, Metro Kids, Fidelis Cares, The National Charity League of Garden City, Aron Yagoda, Life Works of Saratoga, and to all of the groups who conducted food drives including:
The Bridge Church of Floral Park, The Bridge Church of Malverne, Salem Assemblies of God - Elmont, Church of God of Elmont, Calgary AG Church of Franklin Square, NY Logos Korean Presbyterian Church, Legacy Center, Garden City Service League of Boys, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, West Hempstead, St. Gregorios Orthodox Church of India Queens, St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Levittown, NHP Memorial Key Club, Herricks Chinese Association, and Troop 4 Boys Scouts of Floral Park
Thank you to every single volunteer who donated their precious time in service to our community.
Blessings be upon each and every one of you and your families as you gather to celebrate with loved ones, remember those who have passed, and celebrate our God-given lives.
