FWISD Schools, Organizations Give Back This Thanksgiving
Multiple Fort Worth ISD schools and groups are showing gratitude for families and giving back to the community with multiple food giveaways and collection drives this Thanksgiving season.
Recently, various FWISD groups hosted events, seeing to it that families across the city have a turkey and other trimmings as they gather this Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 25.
FWISD’s Family Action Center, in partnership with the Witherite Law Group, 1-800-TruckWreck and Fort Worth’s Fiesta grocery store on East Berry Street, gave away 1,000 free turkeys to families in need within hours on Friday, Nov. 19. The turkey giveaway was one of eight food distribution events hosted by the Family Action Center this month to support FWISD families -- including those in Eastern Hills and Dunbar pyramids – area learning centers, older adults and homebound people, said Charles Hodges, Family Action Center director. In addition to its partners for the Nov.19 turkey giveaway, the Family Action Center has partnered with Texas Health Resources, Blue Zones Project Fort Worth, Tarrant Area Food Bank and area churches to give away fresh vegetables and food boxes to hundreds of Fort Worth families this November.
"Nearly 4 million Texans experience food insecurity every day. Add to that a health crisis, unemployment and supply chain issues that make it difficult to get food and basic supplies, and you have a situation that leaves many individuals completely defeated and depleted," said Amy Witherite, Witherite Law Group and 1-800-TruckWreck founder in a recent statement. "We're here today to help ease some of this burden so that people can have the food they need for the holiday."
Students and staff at FWISD’s Kirkpatrick Middle School showed appreciation for its families by giving away 125 Thanksgiving food boxes on Thursday, Nov. 18. The boxes, which included a turkey, canned and dried goods, were donated by Fossil Creek Community Development Center, also known as CommUNITYMeals.
Families from Kirkpatrick Middle School pre-registered for the boxes, which were assembled and distributed by the school’s sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. About 25% of the student population received Thanksgiving boxes, thanks to the generous donation, said Principal Jeffrey Bartolotta. He said that it’s an incredible feeling to assist families that have supported Kirkpatrick Middle School all year long.
“They support us by getting the kids to school every day and coming up whenever we need them. The least we could do is repay them with a meal to help them through this tough time of year,” Mr. Bartolotta said. “They deserve for the school to help them in any way just as they support us. The gratitude and the love that we felt last [Thursday] night with the families is everything that this holiday is about – giving thanks and giving back to your community.”
FWISD parents also partnered with the Community Food Bank to secure multiple Thanksgiving Food Boxes vouchers for multiple families across the District. The boxes were distributed to families the week prior to Thanksgiving.
Throughout November, multiple FWISD schools hosted food and diaper drives to support local food banks and area churches throughout Fort Worth.