Volunteers and Bethel residents join Brotherhood In Action to help sort donated food for Thanksgiving action week, where large boxes of food are delivered to needy families in Bethel, Conn, for Thanksgiving. Brotherhood In Action receives community support in the form of food, household items, toys and clothes which they distribute at Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas. Tuesday, November 18, 2014. Photo: H John Voorhees III
For 35 years, the Brotherhood-In-Action has been providing local families with food and supplies to make it through the holiday season.
On Tuesday night, the organization kicked off the annual three-day Thanksgiving distribution to some 90 town families who might otherwise be forced to do without necessities, never mind holiday treats.
Brotherhood-In-Action works with area businesses that donate food, and more than 100 volunteers who sort and pack boxes through the holiday season.
“It’s a great organization that is totally run by volunteers,” said Leo Gallagher, Brotherhood-In-Action’s president. “We have no employees; all the money that comes in we donate.”
The organization serves more than 100 Bethel families for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. The organization is considering whether to add another food delivery in the summer, O’Leary said.
This year the organization launched a midsummer food delivery to families, said Tom O’Leary, a Brotherhood-In-Action member. The organization has helped families pay for winter utilities.
“People love to give, and it’s all staying in Bethel,” said Tom O’Leary, one of the founders. “It is in the fiber of Bethel, which makes it a great little town.”
All preparations will be done at Brotherhood-In-Action headquarters, next to Bethel’s United Methodist Church.
Thanksgiving food drive schedule:
Sorting: Tuesday, Nov. 18 6:30 p.m.
Packing: Wednesday, Nov. 19 6:30 p.m.
Delivery: Saturday, Nov. 22 9:30 a.m.
Food drives will continue into Christmas, if you would like to volunteer or donate visit the Brotherhood-In-Action website.