A Leamington turkey give away has officially gotten too big for home delivery and the organizer says it's a good problem to have.
The Diab family paid for and delivered a humble 50-birds for Talking Over Turkey three years ago. Last year some local businesses caught wind of what they were up to and bumped that number to 200 through donations.
"A big community effort; I was contacted by banks, stores and greenhouse operations, real estate agents that all said they wanted to donate to this cause. They had the same attitude of wanting to reach families during the holiday season, they know it's tough," says Mike Diab, who credits real estate agent Stacy Diniro with getting the fundraising ball rolling.
Diab tells AM800 News delivery is now officially off the table after overwhelming support brought that total to 600 turkeys with all the fixing's for residents in need.
He says the exponential success just motivated the family to do more with the help of others looking to pay-it-forward.
"It was just a movement that brought my daughter to tears with this experience we had," says Diab. "So I said, 'you know what? We're going to do even better than this. We're going to reach more people and give back the way we can.'"
Kimball Lumber cut Diab a cheque, Highbury Canco, and numerous greenhouse operations pitched in. Diab says the coolest part, was they all offered up help without the stipulation of an endorsement.
"Really an eye opener for me because nobody said no, everybody who spoke to me, was really motivated to see this through. They wanted me to be the conduit, and I said, 'absolutely,'" says Diab, who printed donor names and logos on distribution boxes out of appreciation.
More than 600 turkeys are on ice at the FreshCo in Kingsville waiting for the giveaway on Saturday Dec. 15 at 11am.
Volunteers will be distributing items on the corner of Sherk St. and Georgia Ave. in Leamington.