Donate a turkey or ham and remember needy vets this Thanksgiving

MONROE — Remember a hungry veteran this Thanksgiving.
American Legion Post 488 in Monroe is again looking for the community's involvement to help needy vets to make their own Thanksgiving dinners by donating turkeys and hams to the organization.
"Like others, many veterans in our area have financial challenges, and it's difficult to scrape enough money together to buy the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner," said Marty Currid of American Legion Post 488, who is coordinating the effort with ShopRite of Monroe. "Hunger still exists, believe it or not. If you can help these special men and women - who have given so much of themselves to help this nation stay safe - to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal, that, you'd be doing a wonderful act of compassion. It'd be a way of giving thanks for all that you have, by helping someone else."
Currid said many people donate the free turkeys earned at ShopRite and most never "miss" those turkeys because they're usually extra ones earned through shopping points at the store.
As a convenience, all ShopRite shoppers need to do is show their register receipt showing they purchased $400, which earns them a free turkey or ham, at the grocery store's customer counter and ShopRite will hold the turkey or ham in their name for the legion to deliver.
As an additional option, donors can also stop by the legion hall on Lakes Road after 2 p.m. any day with their donations. The turkeys will be kept in the legion's freezers and passed onto veterans in time for Thanksgiving.
Legion officials will deliver the turkeys and hams the week of Nov. 19.
To learn more, call 783-3965.
- Nancy Kriz