What started at 60 turkeys has now evolved into 200 Thanksgiving meals provided to the community that the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center serves.
With assistance from Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, volunteers handed out these Thanksgiving meals on Saturday to those in need.
The mission of the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, which has three locations, is “to provide high-quality, culturally sensitive, affordable and accessible primary health care, dental, mental health and enrollment services to all residents of the Santa Clarita Valley and other underserved neighboring communities,” as stated on its website.
The turkey giveaway is annual event that has been around for many years because of the need.
“We already knew that anything that we can do to help the families out, particularly during the holidays when it’s very challenging for a lot of folks can be very stressful,” said Philip Solomon, CEO of the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center Inc. “You know, we just thought that this would be a great way to continue to support the families that we care for.”
One of the volunteers knew firsthand about how impactful this gesture was because one year, she was on the receiving end.
“Every time they have an event, we would love to give back because at one point, I was one of the people getting something from them. I received a turkey when I was younger,” said Carolina Orozco-Hernandez, a member of the Samuel Dixon center’s board.
Orozco-Hernandez moved from Mexico to Val Verde. The Samuel Dixon center was there to help her with the care she needed. These acts led her to work, volunteer and become a board member for the center, totaling 25 years with the organization.
“It helped, you know, because at that point we didn’t have much, so it did help a lot to our family,” said Orozco-Hernandez.
Orozco-Hernandez brought her granddaughter to the event because, even though she is a baby, she wanted her to learn the meaning of giving back.
Bags were packed with produce from that morning’s farmer’s market, including stuffing, green beans, gravy, corn and potatoes. All were assembled with the goal of one having everything they need to the create a Thanksgiving meal.
“A lot of the people that are coming today you see them get so happy and they’re joyful and they’re grateful and that’s one of the things that I love the most,” said Orozco-Hernandez, “is just to see the families being happy because you know a lot of people don’t have the means to buy a turkey or especially these days. It’s very expensive.”
Solomon said the Samuel Dixon center serves over 8,000 families. He hopes with more support, they can continue increasing how much they are able to put on the tables of these families.
