BRYAN, Texas — Nearly 500 families are going to add one more thing to be thankful for this year: Rotary Club of Aggieland. The organization has almost completed its biggest fundraiser of the year and is set to pack nearly 500 baskets of Thanksgiving food for needy families.
The group is packaging the turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and other food items into baskets on Saturday, Nov. 23 to get them ready for delivery. The money for the food is donated through a number of fundraisers throughout the year, local companies and people in the community.
"We get a grant from H-E-B and all the money is donated to our club," said Rotary Club of Aggieland President, Fred Patterson. "We buy the product, package it up and deliver it to everybody's home for them tomorrow."
This fundraiser started more than 15 years ago and the group was only wrapping up around 12 baskets at that time. That's not the case now. Three months ago, the group began looking for families who were in need of a basket and a little holiday cheer.
"We partner with several organizations in town," Patterson said. "Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, the Bridge Ministry. We get names from them and families in need."
There are a few things that families need to have in order to qualify for a basket. "Since our meals aren't prepared, they have to be able to have a place to cook the meals," Patterson said. "That's important to us when we're looking for recipients."
Each basket is filled with enough food for six to ten people. Patterson said the organization hopes to have 100 teams of at least two people to deliver the baskets around the area. Delivery will take place between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Saturday.