Volunteers and staff from South County Community Services served a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal—complete with all the fixings—to about 100 unhoused residents of Gilroy on Nov. 20.
The free holiday meal, which has become a philanthropic tradition of the South County Compassion Center and partnering organizations, was served at lunchtime at the Gilroy Veterans Memorial Building on Sixth Street.
Volunteers—including representatives of the Cross Ministries motorcycle club and Victory Outreach International—served turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, vegetables and plenty of sides as attendees lined up. The recipients of the food were encouraged to take containers full of leftovers with them as they left.
The charity event included raffle giveaways, with dozens of prizes—including gift cards to local establishments—donated by people and groups from throughout Gilroy.
“We have a lot of prizes this year,” said Myra Winthagen of South County Community Services.
The annual Thanksgiving dinner for the unhoused has been organized for several years by the South County Compassion Center, which is now partnering with South County Community Services to host the event and other programs.
“Our unhoused neighbors deal with something many of us often take for granted—the sense of togetherness that comes with the Thanksgiving holiday. This event was for that experience,” said Andy Lam, South County Community Services Operations Manager. “Our team and volunteers dedicated months of planning to ensure our unhoused community members could enjoy a warm meal and have a memorable Thanksgiving celebration.”
Other organizations that helped organize the Nov. 20 event are the Interfaith Community of South County, PitStop Outreach, Morgan Hill Bible Church, South Valley Community Church, West Hills Community Church, the Gilroy Presbyterian Church, South Santa Clara Valley Memorial District and the Edward Boss Prado Foundation.
