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Community Corner

Volunteers Serve Thanksgiving Dinner to Families in Jamaica Plain

Thanksgiving got underway a couple of days early in Jamaica Plain, when volunteers served a turkey dinner to 60 children and parents on Tuesday. The Thanksgiving dinner was organized by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) and held at the agency’s service center in Arboretum Place on Washington Street in Jamaica Plain.

MSPCC runs Kid’s Day, a therapeutic after school program for children between the ages of five and 12 at the site. On Tuesday, volunteers from MSPCC’s young professionals group served a full Thanksgiving meal to the children in the program and their parents.

“The children, their families, and the staff look forward to the Thanksgiving dinner all year,” said Denise Duggan, MSPCC’s Jamaica Plain Site Director. “It captures the true sense of community that is part of our program every day. Fitting for the season, the theme of Kid’s Day this month has been gratitude. We all have so much to be thankful for.”

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In addition to the meal, entertainment was provided by the kids, who performed songs, magic tricks and a Thanksgiving reading. They also provided decorations for the event in the form of construction paper turkeys on which they wrote all they are grateful for.

“I’m thankful for my family,” one child wrote. Others wrote they are thankful for school, friends, and dogs.

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“It’s such a special event, a delicious feast and families thankful for each other—treasuring the moment,” said Duggan.

MSPCC is a private, non-profit society dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights and well-being of children and families throughout Massachusetts. Founded in 1878, MSPCC has a proud history of protecting children and helping them thrive. In addition to the Kid’s Day After School Program, MSPCC’s services include child abuse prevention and intervention programs, mental health treatment, and support for military families, young parents, and foster, adoptive, and kinship families. For more information please visit www.mspcc.org.

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