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A Hot Meal Warms Hearts

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By LOIS KINDLE

lkindle@tampatrib.com

Published: December 10, 2008

RUSKIN - Larry Johnson sat alone at a table wolfing down a plate of turkey and all the usual Thanksgiving fare.

"This is the first decent meal I've had in three weeks," the carnival hand said. Staying at winter quarters in Ruskin, he hasn't had work for weeks. "Times are hard. This food is very good, and I really appreciate it."

Johnson had heard through others about South Shore's Big Give, a volunteer-driven effort in Ruskin to feed the homeless and hungry. So he headed to Beanie's Family Sports Grille, where he found a huge tent pitched and filled with people serving hot foods and desserts.

"This kind of thing keeps me from committing suicide," said John Bohme, 88, who lives alone in Sun City Center. "After you turn 80, the world gets harder and harder."

Comments like these were heard throughout Thanksgiving Day as people with various needs were welcomed and fed at the event, which organizers say will become an annual affair.

The Big Give was an initiative of Beth Howard, co-owner and manager of the South Shore Gallery in Apollo Beach. She and a committee of six others - Tony Zipperer, Ron Simpson, Don "Beanie" Tichy and his wife, Debbie, Melanie Morrison and Dee Fridella - planned the event, raised money, and then coordinated it with more than 150 community volunteers.

Howard said she got the idea for the Thanksgiving dinner after hosting a recent benefit at the gallery that raised $1,000.

"I decided we should feed a Thanksgiving Day cooked meal to people in our area," she said. The $1,000 was used as seed money to get things rolling.

She and Simpson approached Don Tichy "about our crazy idea, and he said sure, we can make that happen," she said.

From there, donation jars were placed around the area, and word spread quickly about people wanting to volunteer or donate money.

By 2:45 p.m. on Thanksgiving, about 160 people had turned out to partake in the free meal prepared by Tichy, his staff and Danny Martinez of Fat D's Cookin'. Another 150 had been served at their places of residence by volunteers who took food to shut-ins, and leftover food was taken to the Salvation Army in Bradenton, where roughly another 200 people were fed.

"We've cooked 38 turkeys and all the fixings since Saturday," Tichy said. "Nothing went to waste."

Gary Roberts and Kim DeCosta appreciated those efforts. The homeless couple had unsuccessfully searched for work in the Bradenton area and were headed back to Atlanta when they read about the Big Give in the newspaper. "It's good to have a hot meal," Roberts said. "It's nice to know there are people who care this much about people like us."

John Lawson of Hydro Harvest Farm came dressed as Santa, and Randall Johnson, a.k.a Kalvin the Klown, made balloon animals for children.

"It's a great community event," Morrison said. "There are so many volunteers helping so many people in need. It's a wonderful feeling to be part of this."

John Smith, honorary mayor of Ruskin, called the Big Give a success.

"I'm impressed with the event on all levels," he said, "especially with the amount of volunteerism I've seen from the community. I think we'll do even better next year."

SEE MORE PHOTOS ONLINE

For more photos of the South Shore Big Give, go to www.tbo.com and enter keyword: Ruskin Thanksgiving.

Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553.

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