Hospice serves up turkeys for needy

With Thanksgiving upon us, Kaweah Delta Hospice began distributing 70 Thanksgiving dinners for families in need.

The partnership with the Visalia Breakfast Lions Club has provided the meals to families in Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties for the past 14 years.

“Everyone in the department contributes to building complete Thanksgiving meals for our families,” said Susan Buscaglia, Director of Hospice Service for the Kaweah Delta Health Care District. “We start a list and everyone signs up to bring needed items. This includes stuffing, pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, sweet corn, dinner rolls and reusable bags to hold all items. Our goal is to provide a meal to all families who need help.”

The partnership between the two organizations aimed at assisting families with terminally ill family members in a time of need. The Visalia Breakfast Lions Club contributed to the cause with the purchase of the turkeys for families while the staff at Kaweah Delta Hospice gathered the rest of the items to make it a complete meal.

This year, the Thanksgiving dinners were personally delivered to the families with help from the Kaweah Delta Dialysis Center. Families being helped this Thanksgiving by the meals spanned from Porterville to Reedley and cities in between.