02:00 Tue 11-24-09 | by Andy Kent
There was something much better than a football game going on this afternoon at Land Shark Stadium as families from throughout South Florida just saw their Thanksgivings given a tremendous boost.
PHOTO GALLERYFor the fifth year in a row, the Miami Dolphins hosted a special food giveaway for the holiday and for the second straight year it consisted of full Thanksgiving meals complete with turkeys and all of the sides along with pies for dessert. The 1,017 meals were purchased by Dolphins players from Publix Supermarkets and in conjunction with the Daily Bread Food Bank they were distributed to families in need chosen by over 100 different area charitable agencies.
"It's another great event and what's so unique about is the players are the ones who raised the money for this," said Bill Fauerbach, Vice President of Retail Operations for Publix Supermarkets, Miami Division. "They went above and beyond even what they did last year, and with so many more people needing the complete dinner for the holiday, the timing couldn't be better. It's an excellent program and I'll tell you what, these players do more for the community than any other bunch I've ever been associated with."
There was a good mix of rookies and veterans among the 19 players that turned out to distribute the meals and they were helped by the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders. Strong safety Yeremiah Bell has been at every one of the five giveaways while rookie cornerback Vontae Davis was experiencing it for the first time and both players were more than happy to lend a hand.
"It's a great feeling. I've done this event every year I've been here and this is probably my favorite Dolphins event because Thanksgiving is such a great time for everyone," Bell said. "It's a time for family and people to get together and just the experience and everybody being out here and just seeing the smile on everybody's faces is a thing to behold. We're happy to be out here with them and everybody's out here just having a good time."
Davis was raised by his grandmother, who developed a reputation for helping people in her community by taking in kids from the neighborhood coming from broken homes so to be a part of something like this comes natural to him.
"When I was smaller, for me to do something like this would have made my day and I just want to give back to the kids who I know would do the same thing," Davis said. "For people to leave here knowing they are going to have a happy Thanksgiving is what is most important."
Robert Peters, the associate director of the Daily Bread Food Bank, was taken aback by the outpouring of support shown by the Dolphins players and the entire organization as well as the people from Publix. Knowing that each one of these meals will feed seven people is something that Peters feels will make a big impact on the lives of those families fortunate enough to be chosen.
Something else Peters is hopefully will come from this event is more exposure to the plight of so many families in South Florida during the current economic conditions. Through events like this giveaway, Peters can see more light being shed on the problem facing those not only in this community but around the country.
"We can't thank the Miami Dolphins enough for this opportunity. Again these are meals that otherwise our families here in South Florida would not receive," Peters said. "With our present economy we have seen such an increase in the numbers that we are serving. We estimate that we serve approximately 120,000 people living in poverty here in South Florida and the new census just came out. We're looking at over 600,000 people living in poverty in South Florida, so you can see that everybody that helps out with this cause really, really helps out."
For left tackle Jake Long, this was not only the second straight year he was a participant at the stadium but it's the second straight day of handing out turkeys for him. He and the rest of the offensive line, along with quarterback Chad Henne and a few other members of the team went to right tackle Vernon Carey's high school alma mater, Miami-Northwestern, to help Carey give out turkeys in the school, gymnasium to families from that community.
Long enjoys being able to give back to the community and put a smile on the faces of kids and their families, which is why he has attended just about every community event put on by the Dolphins and by his teammates. For him it never really gets old.
"I've always liked to give back whenever I come to these charity things because as much happiness we bring other people it brings me joy, too," Long said. "That's why I think there are so many Dolphins players out here and this was such a big event because we can give back; we've got the means to give back to those less fortunate. There are a lot of people experiencing tough times now so we're trying to give back as much as we can and even more now and that's why this event is so good."
Wide receiver Greg Camarillo is another one of those players that has been very visible in the community throughout the year and really was able to put it all in perspective.
"Thanksgiving is about being with your family, being with your community. These people are our family, they are our community," said Camarillo, who earlier this month hosted the Kids and Fins Publix Shopping Spree in downtown Fort Lauderdale. "They are the ones who support us in this same stadium on Sundays. It is a blessing that we can support them back for Thanksgiving."
