The CBB is on a mission every year to provide Charleston area families with all of the ingredients they need to cook a Thanksgiving meal.
This year was our biggest effort to date – with a mission to feed 3,500 Lowcountry families. And yesterday we did just that!
Hundreds of volunteers piled in the Charleston Area Convention Center to assemble all of the meals and then hand-deliver each and every meal to the receiving families.
The press we received from the local stations was amazing! Aaron WCIV and Live 5 News were there bright and early at 5am to do their spots and we made the front page of The Post & Courier.
In order to feed 3,500 families (approximately 21,000 residents) we had to raise $105,000. It only takes $30 to feed a family and each meal feeds a family of six. Every family receives all of the ingredients to cook a Thanksgiving meal: a 14 lb. turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, marshmallows, corn, green beans, Jiffy cornbread mix and a pumpkin pie. Finally, the meal comes with a note that says “This comes to you from someone who cares. All we ask is that you take care of yourself well enough one day to do this for someone else someday.”
“When a community comes together, magic happens,” said our co-founder Pam Hartley. “The list goes on and on of people who make this effort happen every year. Members of the community, local organizations, churches, and countless community members donate their time and money to feed their neighbors in need. The Charleston Basket Brigade is the result of our loving, philanthropic, Charleston community.”
Our own Emily Trogdon added, “It is always such a heartwarming experience to see hundreds of smiling volunteers come together to provide a meal to those in need at Thanksgiving. It brings tears to my eyes every year to see the outpouring of support to serve these families that would otherwise not have a Thanksgiving meal. Thank you to everyone!”
A special thank you to EVERY SINGLE VOLUNTEER who joined The Charleston Basket Brigade this year; especially our partners, Carolina One Real Estate Services and Communities in Schools. We would not be able to create this magical event with out you.
See more photos from the event on the Charleston Basket Brigade’s facebook page here.
The Charleston Basket Brigade is still in need of donations. Please visit www.CharlestonBasketBrigade.org.
Thousands of Charleston area residents brought in their knives to be sharpened at The Coastal Cupboard’s Semi Annual Charity Knife Sharpening Event to raise money for the Charleston Basket Brigade. For just $1 per knife, guests got their knives sharpened at the store from October 30th through November 2nd which raised $4,002.00 for this year’s effort.
Pitner said, “We had an overwhelming response for the Charity Knife Sharpening this year; it was awesome to see crowds of people lined up to sharpen their knives for such a great cause. We raised double the amount of money for the brigade this year!”
Guests not only got their knives sharpened, but enjoyed knife skills demonstrations and shopped specials on cutlery sets and knife sharpeners, and knife gadgets. Doc Crombie and Jimmy Hagood also came out to the event to keep everyone’s belly full and served free samples of their specialty sauces on food hot off of the Big Green Egg. A portion of the proceeds from Jimmy Hagood and Doc Crombie’s BBQ sauce sales that weekend will also benefit the CBB.
The Charleston Basket Brigade wants to thank everyone who came out to get their knives sharpened and support this amazing event as well as the Carolina One agents and employees who organized and orchestrated the event; especially Patti Vick and Marty Belk. Ladies, this event would have not been such a huge success without your help!