A Different Thanksgiving
Since A Tiny Home for Good opened its doors to its first tenants, we’ve hosted a Thanksgiving day dinner. The first one in 2016 was small. Having only five tenants in Fall of 2016, there were more cooks and FOs (Friends of the Organization), than tenants. Fast forward to 2019. It was a big ol affair. A bunch of birds. A dozen pies. And more tenants and FOs than we could fit in one room. And with good food, lots of smiles, and plenty of sharing, our Thanksgiving dinner has been a highlight for our growing community.
Just half of our 2019 Thanksgiving crew…
But, no surprise, it has to be different this year. This will be the first year in our short three year existence that we will not be hosting a Thanksgiving Day dinner. And it’s too bad. No turkey or stuffing or yams. No fresh bread and pies. No hot apple cider. But here is the real kicker: no smiling introductions as each guest shares about how they’re connected to THG. No opportunity for each tenant to proudly share their address and how long they’ve been with us. No opportunity for FOs and tenants to spend time sharing about their Fall and rehashing fun Thanksgiving Day stories of yesteryear. No community.
And that right there is the real hard part of Thanksgiving, 2020. On paper, A Tiny Home for Good is a construction company and a landlord. We build small homes and we rent them to men and women coming out of the shelter system. But guess what? In order to make that a reality, we need our FOs to know our tenants’ names. And vice versa. We need opportunities to smile together and share corny stories. We need a community and we need Thanksgiving.
This year made that hard. But, despite not being able to gather as a group, some of our biggest FOs were on point, proving this Thanksgiving could be far from a total wash…
Look at that well oiled machine… Big big Friends of the Organization, the Weaver Family, stepped up big time. They prepared and assembled THIRTY Thanksgiving dinners for each of our tenants. Along with the dinners, the Weavers packed some canned goods and a few pairs of socks. Once all packaged, we bounced from site to site delivering the meals, saying hello to our tenants, and wishing them a very happy thanksgiving.
The Bellevue fellas were over the moon…
We didn’t quite bat a thousand. While most tenants were home, we had to leave the bags at Rose with notes for Asa and Miguel, the two tenants at Rose…
We wrapped up the night at Marquette where a thankful Dale and an excited Duke gave us a warm warm welcome…
Sure, there was no big family-style meal. We couldn’t navigate our way through each delicious course. We couldn’t talk and yell over each other. We couldn’t laugh at well worn stories or marvel at the amount of food some of our smaller tenants can still pack in. We couldn’t all be together. But thanks to the Weaver family, all-star Friends of the Organization, we did our best to show we’re not just a construction company, but an organization that only exists because of the community of people it has fostered. And that even this year, we had to recognize and celebrate that.
Hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Take care.