The Thanks-Giving Foundation, the non-profit group that owns and operates Thanks-Giving Square, a private garden and public space of reflection in Downtown Dallas, has been named “Organization of the Year: Small” by DCEO magazine as part of its “Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards 2020,” presented in partnership with the Communities Foundation of Texas. Managing Partner Christopher B. Trowbridge serves as Chairman of the board of directors for the organization.
“We are honored to be selected for this recognition,” said Thanks-Giving Foundation CEO Kyle Ogden. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead the Thanks-Giving Foundation as we bring our diverse community together around a shared vision for a new and exciting future filled with kindness, connection, inclusion and gratitude. The work that we do to engage our neighbors through community dialogue, interfaith programs, and gratitude initiatives has never been more vital. We bring people together, and we’re doing this, even if we can’t always be together physically.”
As part of its nomination, the Thanks-Giving Foundation highlighted the “Serving Up Gratitude” initiative, launched in the early days of the pandemic. The organization, fueled by its donors, committed to purchase more than $200,000 worth of meals from struggling local restaurants, and to provide more than 20,000 meals to frontline workers responding to COVID-19. To date, more than 125 restaurants have enrolled in the program, which has served all Dallas County hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients, all Dallas County drive-through testing sites, the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. And, as a special treat, the organization served up more than 2,000 cookies from nine bakeries to nurses on National Nurses Day. Now, the organization is launching a second phase of Serving Up Gratitude to show appreciation for teachers.
“Serving Up Gratitude” has been so meaningful to us on multiple levels,” said Trowbridge in a press release from the Thanks-Giving Foundation. “First responders and health care professionals are the heroes of the pandemic and serving them is an honor and a duty. For our local restaurants, we are eager to be part of a ‘bridge’ to better times. At the heart of everything is service and thanksgiving. We are grateful to have made a small difference and honored to be featured by DCEO.”
To read the full press release from the Thanks-Giving Foundation, please click here.
To learn more and to get involved with the Thanks-Giving Foundation, please click here.