On November 18th, 2023 you came together with other friends, neighbors, classmates, teammates, co-workers, businesses, faith communities, and community organizations to pack and deliver 1,500 Thanksgiving meals to our local communities. A few key stats we can celebrate together:

• The meals we packed fed over 8,000 people on Thanksgiving.
• 429 volunteers went out on 171 delivery routes to hand deliver 1356 meals.
• The other 144 meals went to our local food banks for pre-arranged pickups and extra supplies for holiday meals.
• 275+ volunteers helped us assemble the meals and load them into our delivery vehicles.

All of these key stats are record numbers for the Community Big Give since we started back in 2010. What an honor it was to have so many people, groups, and organizations, coming together to bring Thanksgiving meals to the families in our community who need it most.

Next year, we will surpass 50,000 people served through the Community Big Give. What an incredible impact you have had on our community by participating in this event this year and for many of us, over the past many years.

Thank You!

Over the years, the Community Big Give has grown, adapted, and become more efficient in getting Thanksgiving meals to families that need them during this time of the year (We had 99.4% accuracy with our deliveries in 2023). We made some key improvements in our processes from last year, but we know there are a few areas we can still adapt and improve upon (2-shift implementation, ensuring enough inventory for our last deliveries, volunteer communication, and more).

We value your thoughts, insights, and especially the stories you may have encountered during your time volunteering at the 2023 CBG. Please share your story and insights on our FEEDBACK FORM. Your story will help inspire even more people to serve and allow sponsors to see the impact of their donations. There is great potential for the Community Big Give to serve even more people in the future.

NOTE: Please pass along this blog post and our thanks to anyone you may have signed up to volunteer in your group or family. Their thoughts and stories are welcome as well.

If you thought serving on the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving was a great experience, we want to encourage you to explore the many other opportunities there are to serve and meet the need of food insecurity right here in our community.  Our local food banks are amazing places to serve, on your own, as a family, or with a group of people you’re friends with.  Check out the opportunities for you to serve on their websites below:

• The Market (Bonney Lake Food Bank)
• Sumner Community Food Bank 
• Emmanuel Food Pantry

We’ve already started planning and brainstorming on next year’s event in 2024.  Mark your calendar so that you will be able to join us on the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving, November 23rd, 2024. We will open up volunteer sign-ups on October 1st, 2024. We can't wait to serve with you again next Thanksgiving.