BURLINGTON, Mass. — In Burlington, a team of hard-working volunteers refused to let a punishing November thunderstorm stop them from completing a vital mission: providing Thanksgiving dinner to struggling veterans and Gold Star families all around Massachusetts.
Monday morning, a Teamsters Local 25 truck, loaded with 500 turkey dinners, rolled into a parking lot across the street from the Burlington Police Station.
And there, in pelting cold rain, volunteers offloaded the turkeys onto trucks and SUVs that will be delivered to veterans in every corner of Massachusetts.
The Manolis Family Foundation provided the turkeys.
“Thanksgiving is no longer Thanksgiving if we don’t give back before we sit at the table and have our Thanksgiving meal,” Elias Manolis told me.
The Middlesex County Sheriff’s Deputy Association organizes this turkey drive every year,
But thanks to COVID-19, the need this year is higher than ever.
“It’s not fair for a family to think about the traditional Thanksgiving meal and have to make a choice between that and paying the electricity bill,” Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said, as he helped offload the truck.
It turns out, these volunteers delivered more than just turkey dinners.
“These are all people who sacrificed, joined the military, this is a way for these people to say we still remember your fallen, and we are not going to forget,” said Karen Lounsbury, a Gold Star Mother.
The Massachusetts Disabled and Limbless Veterans organization tirelessly works, all year, to provide food and housing for struggling veterans.
Mike McNulty is a Vietnam Combat Veteran who served in the United States Marines, and who is now the Founder and CEO of Disabled and Limbless Veterans.
He was in Burlington, helping to offload turkey dinners and to make sure every dinner was delivered to a veteran in need.
“It makes me feel like when I sit down and have my turkey dinner, I know all my brethren are eating and their kids are eating. And makes me feel real good,” McNulty told me.
In the rain, in Burlington, the Spirit of Thanksgiving is very much alive.
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