How serving others helps some in Southern Utah enjoy the holidays even more

Volunteers come together to prepare for 2019 Basket Brigade, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Jeremy Larkin, St. George News

CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — The holidays are about snowflakes and twinkling lights for some people and sharing gifts for others, but for a dedicated few in Southern Utah, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without spending time serving their neighbors in need.

Volunteers come together to prepare for 2019 Basket Brigade, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Jeremy Larkin, St. George News

For the past 10 years, on a mission to “Give Thanks, Give A Meal,” the St. George Basket Brigade has joined forces to deliver a full Thanksgiving meal to local families that may be facing a crisis.

“We love it. It’s the basis of our entire fall,” Jeremy Larkin of Larkin Group Real Estate told St. George News. “Everything rises and falls around putting that on.”

The St. George Basket Brigade was founded by the Palmer family — five siblings, their mom and their spouses —  who first volunteered at a similar event in Las Vegas in 2008. The experience was so fulfilling, they had to try to bring the program to Southern Utah and its many families in need.

Families are nominated for help by friends, family members, neighbors and the staff at local schools, who are in a good position to be aware of a family’s struggles.

Volunteers come together to prepare for 2019 Basket Brigade, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Jeremy Larkin, St. George News

In a two-hour whirlwind event on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving, over 200 volunteers came together to gather 1,000 pounds of potatoes, 195 bottles of cider, 487 cans of green beans, 487 cans of corn, 291 cans of cranberries, 217 gravy packets, 291 boxes of stuffing and hundreds of gift cards from Lin’s Marketplace for turkeys and pies.

On their first outing, they were only able to help 65 families, but this year, they reached 180.

“It’s wild. The really powerful element of this event is its self-sufficiency. We deliver baskets that they cook,” he said, adding that it is amazing to see firsthand the impact it has on people.

Nominated families are from all over the county, from Enterprise to Apple Valley.

He recalled one day when a volunteer arrived at a home to find a mother cleaning her windows. She stopped her and said, “Happy Thanksgiving, someone was thinking about you.” The woman turned to see what she was carrying in her hands and burst out in tears. Then, the volunteer cried.

“I told my daughters that I only had $64 to my name and I am getting surgery next week, so we weren’t going to have Thanksgiving this year,” the woman said.

Larkin was born and raised in Southern Utah and he sees the program as a way everyone can truly get their hands in the community and help. He served as a volunteer four years, until three years ago when the Palmer’s approached his real estate company looking for a way to expand the program and reach even more families in the area. He said it has really started to expand now.

Volunteers come together to prepare for 2019 Basket Brigade, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Jeremy Larkin, St. George News

At first, he would get overwhelmed in the days leading up to the event, at times thinking he was going to crack under the pressure of all the details, but recently his attitude has changed. While sitting down for his own Thanksgiving dinner this year he thought, “Oh my goodness, this event just took Thanksgiving to 180 homes.”

One family they helped this year, the Rondos, had five kids ranging in age from two to 15 years old. The family had lost their home in a fire and were struggling to get things back on track. In a letter to the organization they wrote, “Our children have all stayed strong, close and have been there for each other and we are extremely blessed to have such beautiful little spirits. They truly are the best kids ever. … thank you all for everything.”

St. George Basket Brigade has no administrative costs. Donations are completely tax deductible and 100% goes to benefit local families through their nonprofit, Larkin Group Cares. A donation of $50 feeds a family of five and they are always grateful for assistance.

He said their program is dependent upon two things: nominations and donations. They have dozens of businesses that help feed around 10 families and another 50 single donors that participated in 2019, but next year they hope to attract a title sponsor — one key donor that will allow them to take the program even further.

The hope is that someday they will be able to serve up to 500 homes.

If you know of someone in the area who may be in a physical, financial or emotional crisis, please reach out and nominate them for next year.

For more information or to make a donation for next year’s Basket Brigade, call 435-767-9821, go online, or email SaintGeorgeBasketBrigade@gmail.com.

Written by ANDREW PINCKNEY, St. George News.

• S P O N S O R E D  C O N T E N T •

Email: apinckney@stgnews.com

Twitter: @STGnews 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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