Salvation Army volunteers at the turkey drop on Thursday. From left, Mike Chapman, Barry Boersma, Dwayne Goff, Gary Matheus and Mel Garland.
Photo by Scott Neuffer.
Carson City resident and Salvation Army volunteer Gary Matheus said the 26th annual turkey drop at Max Casino on Thursday and Friday was about addressing “human needs.”
“It helps the people that have the needs but do not have the means to have a normal holiday,” he said.
Matheus was among several volunteers taking drop-off donations in the casino’s parking lot: turkeys, boxes of stuffing, other food items and monetary donations.
“We got 35 turkeys going right now,” Matheus said around lunchtime Thursday. “We’re hoping to get 100 or 150.”
The volunteers also hoped to collect a couple thousand dollars in monetary donations. Starting Saturday, they’ll make meal boxes for Thanksgiving. And then they’ll repeat the process for Christmas.
Matheus noted the “red kettle” campaign at local stores starts Monday. He hoped the turkeys collected at the drop-off would last through Christmas but also stressed charitable work is a year-long endeavor.
“One good thing about the Salvation Army is anything raised here stays here,” he said.
The turkey drop was planned to be wrapped up by 6 p.m. Friday. For more information about the Salvation Army Carson City Corps, visit https://carsoncity.salvationarmy.org/.