The Chippewa Valley After Hours Rotary Club is conducting its sixth annual Thanksgiving Dinner Drive today to put a traditional Thanksgiving meal on the table of local families in need. This year the club is helping 63 families in need and 316 people overall.
Each June, the Chippewa Valley After Hours Rotary Club partners with title sponsor PESI to host Taste of the Valley at Phoenix Park. As the benefactor of this fundraising event, the Rotary Club aims to provide hunger assistance in the Chippewa Valley. The Thanksgiving Dinner Drive is 100% funded from the proceeds. While the event did not take place in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rotary club was still able to fund the Thanksgiving Dinner Drive due to the support of Chippewa Valley communities at past Taste of the Valley events.
“Food insecurity is increasingly prevalent in our region during the pandemic and more families than ever are at risk of not being able to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in their home this year,” says President Nichole Volbrecht. “Thanks to our past fundraising efforts at Taste of the Valley with our event sponsor PESI, we are able to alleviate hunger on a day that so many take for granted.”
Meals include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberries, rolls, and pie. The club also includes the turkey bag and pan for cooking.
