6 PM (Dinner at 8PM)
1215 Wood Street #1
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Wow, Thanksgiving is next week, and in just 7 days we will gather for the 17th Annual Chichester TurkeyFest Celebration! It really is hard to believe that many of us have known each other long enough to take part in a tradition lasting that long. However, as time passes each year and our lives following sometimes divergent paths, TurkeyFest becomes all the more important. It is the one time that everyone knows we can all go home and spend an evening with old friends and family.
This year I would like to start a new tradition. While much attention has been placed on the party's theme each year, I would like to shift focus from that element to a new idea. From now on I would like to take our annual gathering as an opportunity to not only give thanks to the bonds we have created with each other, but to do something special for a worthy cause.
So here is what I propose. This year, I have chosen a great cause and ask each of you to make a contribution of any size to benefit the program. Just like every year, you should bring something tasty to eat, but make sure you save a few dollars to make a contribution. We will pass the hat at dinner time. While I have chosen the charity this year (which I detail below), everyone will have an opportunity to vote on a list of nominated charities to support in the upcoming year. So, if there is a cause out there that you feel strongly about, send me a private email and I will take it into consideration when I create the list of nominations.
This year, I invite you all to attend TurkeyFest and help me raise money for the Attic Youth Center.
The Attic Youth Center is Philadelphia's only agency exclusively serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, and is one of only 13 of its kind nationally. The center creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to develop into healthy, independent, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community, and promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ youth in society.
I know that an organization like this could have had a huge impact on my life growing up in Chi, and possibly on some of your lives. It is a wonderful program, and it would mean a lot to me if you all could help me support the program with a financial contribution.
If you cannot afford to make a monetary contribution, there is another way you can help this awesome organization. Each year in the fall, the center tries to provide winter coats to its young people who need them. So, if you have an old winter coat taking space in your closet...dig it out, throw it in the washer & dryer, and then bring it with you to TurkeyFest. A donation of a winter coat would be a great contribution to the Attic Youth Center.
Of course, there is no requirement to make a contribution, but even if you can only afford $5, any donation would be helpful. So, like always, bring your entire family, a delicious dish, and this year bring your check book along too. Donations should be made to The Attic Youth Center. You can also make a contribution online at http://tinyurl.com/6lfour.
micahmj11