Nonprofit Groups Put the Giving in Thanksgiving

Thirteen-year-old Kevin Rosenberg and his classmates at Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School assembled 32 gift baskets Tuesday, complete with turkey and trimmings, dessert, flowers, cards and a can opener.

The baskets were delivered to Jewish Family Service’s Family Violence Project, which will give them to victims of domestic violence.

“For many of the women and children who receive them, this is truly the only way they can have a holiday,” said Kitty Glass, community outreach coordinator for Family Violence Project. “Sometimes they’re so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and warmth--that someone cared enough--that they’re speechless. They cannot fathom that others are so willing to want to do for them.”

Heschel Day School is among many nonprofit organizations around the San Fernando Valley that are serving disadvantaged residents this holiday season.

The Guadalupe Community Center will serve free Thanksgiving meals, sponsored by the LAPD West Valley Division’s Police Activities League and the Woodland Hills Optimist Club, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at 21600 Hart St. in Canoga Park.

“We have a lot of people in the area who don’t have a home or family,” said center coordinator Margaret Pontius. “This is for them to celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the traditional way--for free.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will serve hot plates Thursday to thousands of inmates in county jails.

“The purpose of this holiday feast is to help those individuals presently incarcerated reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving, hopefully to ponder their current situation and strive to make it better,” Sheriff Lee Baca said in a statement Tuesday.

Alternative Events

Other groups have planned alternative events for Thanksgiving.

Overeaters Anonymous will hold its 10th annual drop-in Thanksgiving marathon meeting from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday at 7133-B Darby Ave. in Reseda. The group will hold discussions on eating disorders, such as compulsive overeating, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa.

“A lot of people have problems during the holidays because there’s a lot of food, and families are getting together,” said a member, who withheld her name in observance of group rules. “There’s a lot of relationship stress there, and old [eating] patterns can arise. The meeting’s going to be an inspirational reminder that the holiday’s just another day.”

The Gentle Barn Foundation will hold a vegan Thanksgiving potluck dinner from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday at 6050 Corbin Ave. in Tarzana.

Group founder Ellie Callahan promised a “sumptuous feast that no one had to suffer or die for.”

“We’re going to be celebrating life instead of eating it,” Callahan said.

Horses, pigs, sheep, a chicken, a cow and two turkeys saved from slaughter will be “guests of honor,” Callahan said.

“You’ll get the chance to hug them, kiss them, pet them and love them,” she said. “Then maybe if people see how beautiful animals are, they won’t eat them. The day is about compassionate living, after all.”