Thanksgiving 2008 at Children's Aid Society

Thanksgiving is a Week Long at the Dunlevy Milbank Center!

Children’s Aid’s Dunlevy Milbank Center in Harlem was bustling with Thanksgiving festivities for the week leading up to the holiday.

On Monday, November 24, 2008, the New York Knicks and the Garden of Dreams Foundation kicked off the week with a day-long celebration. Knick Jared Jeffries stocked Children’s Aid’s food pantry, gave baby items to families with young children and distributed 300 turkeys to Harlem residents with the help of former Knick Allan Houston.

The next day, Project Feed Me founder Patrick Alvarez and members of his organization gave out 110 turkeys. Alvarez’ inspiration for Project Feed Me was his own experience with homelessness; he wanted to make sure that food was on the tables of disadvantaged families for the holiday.

Then, on Thanksgiving eve, members of the Food and Beverage Association of America donated and prepared a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings for the 18th consecutive year. Over 2,300 people poured into the Milbank gym for a scrumptious free meal. The crowd was much bigger than in years past, likely due to tightening family budgets and the country’s economic woes.