Planning for the Madaro Family Community Fund’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner is in full swing, and Rep. Adrian Madaro has announced a major change to the yearly event due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The event, which will be held on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26), usually helps feed the elderly, homeless, low-income or residents that just need a little company during the holiday.
While the charitable dinner, founded by Rep. Madaro’s predecessor former Rep. Carlo Basile, was always held in person–this year’s event will be “take-out” only.
“This is our second year switching from Sacred Heart Church to the Salesian Boys & Girls Club,” said Madaro. “Because the Club has done an outstanding job as a food distribution site in Eastie and has a large parking lot, we will forgo in-person dining and switch to a ‘take-out’ only operation. This move will ensure that we practice social-distancing and keep the community safe while still being able to provide a Thanksgiving dinner to families in need. This is an especially difficult time for many in East Boston with reductions and job loss so we anticipate more dinners will be served during the holiday.”
Madaro said he anticipates an increase from 500 dinners to 600 dinners on Thanksgiving.
“Volunteers will be on hand preparing food on Thanksgiving Day, and we ask the community to begin arriving at the drive thru site at the Salesian Boys & Girls at 11 a.m.,” said Madaro. “We will be offering to-go Thanksgiving meals until 1 p.m.”
Madaro said he is excited to once again partner with the Boys & Girls Club for this year’s Madaro Family Fund annual Thanksgiving Dinner.
“It worked out well last year but we could never anticipate that a global pandemic would threaten our efforts this year,” said Madaro. “But working with the Boys & Girls Club we came up with this plan and think we can effectively feed hundreds of East Boston residents during the holiday with this new model.”
Madaro said the event has grown year after year and services residents from throughout Eastie.
“The Boys & Girls Club is a little more centrally located than Sacred Heart,” explained Madaro. “Last year, we served over 500 meals, including deliveries, all over East Boston from Orient Heights to Jeffries Point. While we won’t be able to offer in-person dining and music I think it will still be a great event that will help a lot of families impacted by COVID.”
Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Michael Triant said he is thrilled to be partnering on the successful event once again.
“Adrian is a Club kid ,and he cares deeply about Salesian Boys & Girls Club,” said Triant. “He provides so much assistance to us year round. This is a great chance for us to be of assistance to him. It is an amazing opportunity to help Adrian and the Madaro Family Community Fund provide this dinner to the community we serve. Our facilities are such a great resource to the children and families in our community, especially during this pandemic.”
Like years past, the food will be prepared by Spinelli’s chefs, which included salad, a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings and dessert.
“There are a lot of families struggling and a lot of local organizations helping families,” said Madaro. “The Boys & Girls Club is one of those organizations and it is an honor to work with them once again on this noble cause that is community driven.”