Through the generosity of Thanks-Giving Foundation’s “Serving Up Gratitude”, we were able to feed all our Dallas Fire-Rescue in a three-day period.
The backbone of our community’s safety is our First Responders. This includes Firefighters who work tirelessly each day to protect us from harm and take care of us when we are in danger. So, it was an easy decision to assist Thanks-Giving Foundation in coordinating an effort to feed all of Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) in a three-day period.
Serving Up Gratitude, an initiative of the Thanks-Giving Foundation, with the assistance of AJC’s Community of Conscience and other partners, providing nourishment to our hometown healthcare and frontline heroes as a thank you for their courageous fight against COVID-19.
Under the leadership of Kyle Ogden “Serving Up Gratitude” decided it wanted to make the week of May 18th “Firefighter Week.” Mr. Ogden discussed the opportunity to serve dinner to 1,500+ firefighters and personnel with DFR leadership and the Dallas Firefighter’s Museum (DFFM).
Trixie Lohrke, Battalion Chief and President of the Dallas Firefighter’s Museum was glad to assist in coordinating the meal pick up for the fire stations. Greg Wright, Command Technician for Battalion 8 calculated the number of meals needed for each shift during the three-day event. He worked closely Heather Stevens, DFFM Development Consultant and Thanks-Giving Foundation.
“The Firefighter’s Museum is always looking for ways we can support our own while they serve the community. Coordinating the generous donation of dinner from Thanks-Giving Foundation was an honor – especially given the current pandemic we are in.” Trixie Lohrke, Battalion Chief and Museum President stated while in the midst of coordinating meal pick-ups for 58 fire stations over three 24-hour shifts.
Kyle Ogden worked to select restaurants located in each Battalion in order to make dinner take out easy on our Firefighters. The restaurants really stepped up their service and provided an excellent dinner for DFR firefighters. The participating restaurants included Savor, Blue Mesa, Prego, El Fenix, Lockhart’s, Local Oak, Republic Texas Tavern, Bonton Farms, Hall Bar and Grill, and Commissary. These restaurants really went above and beyond!
The Serving Up Gratitude program was able to serve over 1,500+ meals over the dates of May 18, 19, and 20 to DFR Firefighters and Support Personnel. We could not be more thankful to have assisted in this effort. To date the Thanks-Giving Foundation has raised over $200,000 and purchased almost 20,000 meals. If you are interested in donating a meal you can do so here: https://thanksgiving.org/serving-up-gratitude/# and if you are interested in supporting the Museum’s to sponsor coffee for each Fire Station during this time you can visit here: https://www.dallasfiremuseum.com/supportus.
Together we can show our First Responders the community is here to support them during these difficult times and always.