Anonymous donor provides 13,000 turkeys to Salvation Army for Thanksgiving dinners

Salvation Army Clearwater turkey giveaway

The Salvation Army in Clearwater is handing out about 13,000 turkeys for the 30th year thanks to an anonymous donor. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Two semitrucks full of Thanksgiving turkeys arrived before the sun came up at the Salvation Army’s Clearwater campus on Monday.

An anonymous donor provided turkey dinners for families up and down the west coast of Central Florida for the 30th year. This year, she donated 13,000 turkeys.

"About 30 years ago, I was told that she had driven up into Camero with half a dozen turkeys and said, ‘It's my birthday. I want to celebrate my birthday by giving turkeys away,’ and every year she has upped that number, and we're at 13,000 this year," Major Ted Morris, Clearwater Corps Officer, said.

By the numbers:

More than 3,500 of the turkeys will go to families driving through the Clearwater campus Monday. The rest will go to organizations throughout the area who will pass them out to families in need.

"It’s a big help," Linda Collins, who picked up a turkey Monday, said. "It is a blessing for my family, for everybody."

"It’s great. I'm single. My husband passed away and so, I'm going to cook the turkey anyway," said Barbara Johnson, who also got a turkey.

The people who received a turkey on Monday pre-registered.  

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What they're saying:

"It's an action-packed day for us," Major Morris said. "It's exciting. The energy is high. We have about 120 volunteers that do this with us. We only have a staff of maybe just a handful and so, we could not do it without the people coming alongside us and putting turkeys in the cars as well as the donor providing the turkeys for us. 

"It's a great experience because, like you said, people are happy, people are enjoying themselves, the volunteers, and, of course, the recipients. So, it's a day of joy for all of us to be a part of this," Morris said.