When 8-year-old Jaylen grows up, he wants to be on a basketball team. But not as a player. “I want to be the coach!” he says.
Jaylen dreams big, but that dream is a long way off. Right now, his hopes and dreams fall a little closer to home — to his day-to-day reality. Right now, Jaylen is just hoping for a meal this Thanksgiving.
“Sometimes we don’t have food in the fridge,” he says. “It’s hard.”
Jaylen lives with his mother and grandmother. His mom works full time, but the family still struggles to make ends meet. It’s especially hard for his grandmother, Michelle, to put a full meal on the table during the holidays.
“We can’t afford a turkey or anything that goes with it,” she says.
But this Thanksgiving, that won’t have to be the case. Last year, Jaylen’s family benefitted from a local holiday food distribution, where they received a turkey, stuffing, canned vegetables and other holiday favorites.
“Thanksgiving to me is all about spending time with family and friends,” Michelle says. “It’s about appreciating what you have. I’m so grateful for this food.”
The family can receive the same holiday meal this year, which means another turkey on the table for Thanksgiving. That makes Jaylen very happy.
“Not having a turkey would be sad,” he says. “I’m excited that we can have one. It helps our
family celebrate!”
Thanks to your support, families like Jaylen’s can have a turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving this year.
