The holiday season has arrived, but that can be a tough time for some families around the United States. On Wednesday, to help ease the burden, the Miami Dolphins along with Publix, Feeding South Florida and Hyundai distributed 500 Thanksgiving meals to select families in South Florida.
The event was held at the Dolphins facility, which is located at the Doctor’s Hospital Training Facility in Davie. Miami Dolphins players, coaches, cheerleaders and the mascot T.D. were in attendance to help give out meals. Families lined up to receive a meal, which consisted of includes a turkey, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, stuffing, marshmallow delight and cranberry-orange relish.
The families were determined by a pre-selected by Feeding South Florida from 50 nonprofit partner agencies. The Thanksgiving meals were purchased by the players, the coaching staff and Hyundai.
Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan was one of the players giving his helping hand on Wednesday and he said he enjoyed this event.
“It is great to come around this time of the year,” Jordan said. “Two years ago we did and had a great turnout. It was good today too and we are all having a good time.”
Dolphins tight end Dion Sims said he also enjoys giving back to the community.
“It is great to give back, especially around this time of the year,” Sims said. “It is tough not being with our family but it is great being around our fans.”
After receiving the meals, Dolphins players helped each family carry the products to their cars. In all, more than 10,000 people benefited from this year’s Thanksgiving meals distribution from Homestead through Miami Gardens and in Davie.
“This is a great event that we’ve been doing for a number of years here in South Florida. It starts with the leadership of our owner Stephen Ross, who gives us every resource to be successful on the field and encourages us to give back to the community,” Miami Dolphins Senior Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum said.
In the lead up to the holiday, Dolphins alumni, cheerleaders and staff made visits throughout Miami-Dade County to schools and community centers in Miami Gardens, Hialeah, West Miami, Little Havana and Liberty City.
