Thousands of Families to Receive Thanksgiving Baskets From Rochester SBC Thousands of Families to Receive Thanksgiving Baskets From Rochester SBC

ZACHARY LETSON: It’s the 24th year of the SBC Thanksgiving Appeal, but Program Chair Rick Dougherty says this year is different.

RICK DOUGHERTY: This year, you know, we’ve had to pivot a little bit from a philanthropic perspective. We try to usually give out physical goods. This year we’re probably two-thirds physical goods, one-third cash donation.

LETSON: The Council has more than tripled its goal of a thousand boxes since it began, and Dougherty says the process is incredibly fulfilling.

DOUGHERTY: The kind words that each member of the organization has, combined with seeing some of the smiles, and the families faces just speaks volumes to how big a need the Rochester community has.

LETSON: The Council is delivering to the non-profits tomorrow and Saturday. Zach Letson, NCC News.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (NCC News) — This Thanksgiving, the Small Business Council of Rochester Thanksgiving Appeal is supplying 3,200 baskets with food and cash to local non-profit organizations. The event is in its 23rd year. In 2020, its goal is to give boxes to 4,000 different families and reach the cash equivalent of over $1 million . The council will distribute the boxes Friday through Saturday.

This year is different than others the council has been through before.

“Obviously, given the COVID conundrum that we’re all living in, we’re trying to do this in an environment no one’s ever experienced with social distancing,” said SBC Program Chair Rick Dougherty. “This year, we’ve had to pivot a little bit from a philanthropic perspective. We try to usually give out physical goods, [but] this year, we’re probably two-thirds physical goods, one-third cash donations.”

Dougherty added that these donations have come from over 200 different businesses already this year – and that number may not be finalized yet. The council has come a long way since it began in 1997 with an original goal of just a thousand baskets. Since the, the SBC has seen a growth of over 150% in the families it provides to.

For Dougherty, this whole process just means so much.

“When you do that delivery, and when you drop the boxes off to whatever organization it may be, the kind words that the various directors of each organization have, combined with seeing some of the smiles on the kids’ faces, and the families’ faces when they know they’re a recipient, just speaks volumes to how big of a need the Rochester community has,” Dougherty said. “I couldn’t be more proud to participate in it.”

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