The Salem News
---- — To the editor:
On behalf of It Starts With ME! a big thank you to everyone who helped make the fifth annual Turkey Drive a huge success! With help from family, friends, strangers, volunteers and sponsors, we were able to provide 81 Thanksgiving meals to North Shore families and veterans.
This was our most successful turkey drive to date! We fed 405 people and provided 15 boxes and five bags of food to local shelters. It was great to see people from all over, along with their friends, families, student-athletes and co-workers, come together to help those in need. While the list of those who contributed is too many to name, donations ranged from fresh produce from local farms, friends and members of the community dropping off food to the local drop-off centers, and even donations from as far away as California.
A special thank you to Anthony Carnevale and his employees at Salem Liquors for the use of his business to store the turkeys and to serve as a drop-off location. Thank you to Salem Odd Fellows for sponsoring our event for the second year, and to our many volunteers, including Thomas McKinnon, Liz McKinnon, Katie Nieves, Brian Parsons, Sean Parsons, Lauren Jones, Susan Hanson, Sue Sironi, Alex McKinnon, Billy McKinnon, Michelle Archambault, Rachel McCabe, Stephanie Lausier and Jeff Lausier.
Thank you to the many people who involved their organizations, including coach Adrianna Noya and her Peabody High School cheerleading squad, Erin Ford and her co-workers at Mary Kay, Jennifer Bertelli and her co-workers at Eliza Corp., Melissa St. Pierre and her students at Salem High School, and Matt Viel and his friend Dominic Cavallaro III at John Cerasuolo Inc.
I hope for another successful year in 2013!
Melanie M. McKinnon
It Starts With ME!
