On Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving, more than 2,000 volunteers came together at the Radford Studio Center in Studio City to assemble packages of food for the less fortunate.
The spirit of gratitude and togetherness was in the air, with people of all ages turning out.
Local nonprofit Big Sunday organized the event, dubbed “13th Annual BIG Thanksgiving Stuffing Event – a Festival of Gratitude.”
“We’re living in such an incredibly divided and divisive time, and such a dark time in so many ways, but this event, between recipients, volunteers, collectors, sponsors, donors, vendors, this one event is going to touch close to 20,000 people of all ages and backgrounds, and we’re just celebrating differences while finding common ground,” David Levinson, founder and executive director of Big Sunday, said. “[This is about] compassion and kindness and community. It’s great we’re feeding all these people, I’m so happy too, but what I’m really happy about is we can all be here and enjoy one another.”
A Los Angeles-based apolitical organization, Big Sunday began more than 25 years ago, with its roots as a mitzvah day at Temple Israel of Hollywood, a Reform synagogue. Today, it is one of the most prolific nonprofits in the country and is focused on connecting volunteers with opportunities to help.
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