Feeding Community Spirit: Bea Gaddy Family Center's 41st Annual Thanksgiving Dinner

This holiday season, The Bea Gaddy Family Center hosted its 41st annual Thanksgiving Dinner, feeding thousands of families in the Baltimore community.

With just $250, Bea Gaddy used her winnings from a Maryland State Lottery ticket in 1981 to feed 49 neighbors in her community.

Since then, the center has continued this tradition of feeding nearly 3,000 meals on-site and delivering nearly 50,000 meals for families unable to make it to the dinner location.

Starting off with a prayer that blessed the food at approximately 11 a.m., the Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center located in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, was filled with families across the community.

Shantay DeMar, 45, volunteering with JPMorgan Chase & Co., emphasizes the importance of supporting nonprofits all while just wanting to put a smile on residents’ faces.

“It definitely feels good to be surrounded by the community, definitely good to uplift and make people have a positive day and give good energy,” said DeMar.

DeMar and his fellow colleague, Joel Gamble, raised in Baltimore, were known as the “dancing duo,” as they greeted residents inside the center with hand sanitizer and moves to keep the holiday spirit up.

The “dancing duo,” Shantay DeMar and Joel Gamble of JPMorgan Chase & Co. greet residents entering the center.

“One of the most important things to me is service and a life of service,” said Gamble, who serves as a community manager for JPMorgan.

“One of the things I emphasize with our staff is serving the community and actually being present in the community to provide and give back,” said Gamble.

Traditionally the dinner is held at the Virginia S. Baker Recreation Center in Patterson Park, but relocated this year due to maintenance for a new HVAC system to be installed.

Among hundreds of community members volunteering, Mayor Brandon Scott was also among those serving families in the community. In the past weeks, city leaders have worked alongside partners and the Bea Gaddy Center to make sure the annual Baltimore tradition continues.

Mayor Brandon Scott and his wife, Hana Pugh, serving alongside other volunteers to uphold the Baltimore tradition.

Not all volunteers helped with directly serving families. Some volunteers like Babatunde Ogundokun-Ayanda and Vernon Fisher helped deliver food and other necessities to the center.

“Although we had to relocate this year, we welcome the opportunity to engage residents in all neighborhoods across our city and expand Bea Gaddy’s connections to more people in South Baltimore, while still serving its traditional base of residents,” said Mayor Scott in a press release on October 23 after announcing the new location.

Volunteer opportunities to directly feed families at the center or deliver meals to those in the surrounding area, all done while expressing the importance of service this holiday season.