ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
From left, Brian Sohm, John Moakley and Andre Fonseca hand out Thanksgiving dinners to the needy in the parking lot of the Franco-American Club in Lynn as part of the global month of service.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — Things are a little tougher this Thanksgiving for the Macario family.
Isidro Macario, a native of Guatemala who lives in Lynn, lost his job and is barely able to make ends meet for his mother and three younger brothers.
But thanks to an effort by GE Aviation, under the direction of Boston Cares, a charitable group that mobilizes more than 25,000 volunteers annually, the Macarios will have a turkey and all the fixings.
“This will help us to celebrate the holiday,” he said.
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On Tuesday, the Macarios were one of 250 families who benefited from a turkey giveaway at the Franco-American Veterans Club sponsored by GE.
Dozens of the company’s employees gave up a day of work at the Lynn plant to distribute baskets filled with cans of corn, yams, mashed potatoes, rice, beans and a $15 voucher toward a turkey at a local supermarket to the needy.
“This is our way to support the Lynn community,” said Beth Schumacher, a GE manager. “Everyone wants to volunteer, they love to help and the people of Lynn appreciate it.”
GE is one of 40 companies nationally including Fidelity Investments, Biogen, Boston Scientific, Bain & Co. and Shire PLC, that participate in the charity program. GE employees volunteer more than one million hours of community service annually, the company said.
Kacey Sanfilippo, director of corporate engagement for Boston Cares, said GE has committed volunteers in November and December for a Global Month of Service.
During that time they worked with GE to develop charitable projects for their employees including serving food to the homeless at My Brother’s Table, one of the largest soup kitchens on the North Shore. The workers do 80 charity events a year with about 800 volunteers.
On Tuesday, GE volunteers worked in three shifts to prepare the food and distribute the baskets.
“This fills a huge need for the community,” said Sanfilippo.
“These families don’t have to worry about where their Thanksgiving meal is coming from.”
Boston Cares has 250 affiliates worldwide that work with 25,000 volunteers who serve more than 500,000 people in New England.
“It’s a great way to get people to give back in their local communities,” Sanfilippo said. “We continue to see a continuous need, it’s steady.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].