Traveling Turkeys was started in 2009 by one of our school parents, Crystal Grote. Crystal devastatingly lost her husband to ALS and found out her father had been diagnosed with MS that same year. Crystal saw families who were focusing on doctors appointments, bills, and a terminal diagnosis and recognized a real need. The need for families to be able to have a traditional thanksgiving dinner without all of the hassle of going to the store and potentially missing important family time. Crystal assembled a team, contacted the ALS foundation and the MS society, and got to work right away providing families in the area with a basket. The need has grown exponentially, and now includes KU pediatrics, Children's Miracle Network, Alzheimer's Association, ECKAN, and several others. Traveling Turkeys provides baskets to around 1,000 families (and growing) every year.

In 2018, Ashley Lemke and Crystal were at an ACE event when Crystal mentioned that they were going to be 50 baskets short and she didn’t know what to do. Ashley quickly pleaded the case of Traveling Turkeys to principal Nick Antista, and the rest is history. Those 50 baskets were made and ready to go to families in less than 2 weeks time!

Through Wea’s involvement we have been able to donate 50-75 baskets yearly, and always seem to exceed that goal. This year, we raised enough money and had enough items donated to make 134 baskets!! That's 536 people that get to celebrate a thanksgiving dinner with their loved ones, thanks to the generosity of our school and parish family. Traveling Turkeys encompasses so many of our values as Catholics and has been a true blessing to those who not only receive the baskets, but also build and deliver them. Please consider joining us next year.