About 100 local residents gathered Saturday, Nov. 25, at the link in Nocatee to help make Thanksgiving happy for several area families.
This was the second year for the local effort, which is part of The Tony Robbins Foundation’s International Basket Brigade Movement. The 100% volunteer-run program is dedicated to feeding those in need by providing baskets of donated food and household items.
“We’re here to serve the community,” said Rob Swymer, a member of the core local group.
In 2022, the local volunteers fed 50 families. This year, they doubled that.
“We want to do more every year,” said Swymer. “So, next year, maybe 200.”
On the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving each year, volunteers in the movement gather assembly-line style to fill their baskets.
To identify recipients, the local group relies on lists from various shelters in the area. This year, a number of veterans were added.
The group only has about a dozen core members, so it was necessary to reach out to the community — largely through social media and networking — for volunteers. And the community responded.
“We asked for 100 volunteers; we hit that,” said Swymer. “We asked for 50 drivers, because we have to have drivers to actually deliver the food; we hit that. We asked for $5,000; we hit that.”
The local group was started by Steven and Katie Drewes, who had participated in Connecticut prior to moving to Nocatee.
“They’re the masterminds,” said Swymer, who quoted the group’s motto: “A life worth living is a life of giving.”
He said people sometimes forget that there are those who need help.
“It really affects you when you deliver the food,” he said. “I’ve been in that situation before where somebody came to my door, and I’ll never forget that. So, it’s my turn to give back now that I can.”
