Turkey drop offs for this year’s Sue Stultz and local firefighters turkey drive will officially begin tomorrow, down back at the St. George Boulevard fire station.
Firefighter Chris Jackson has been involved since he was a child, “As a child, I grew up in the west end of Moncton. I frequented Sue’s store on St. George Boulevard and I saw the beginnings of this, and donated turkey back then. So now, to be a part of it logistically and to be able to help out as a firefighter, it’s really special.”
Jackson says it is very heartwarming to see those who come to drop off turkeys, “Some of the ones that stand out are are definitely the people who come in that have used the program before and have been in receipt of a turkey and now they are coming back in to donate a turkey to a family in need.”
It’s a milestone year for the drive, they’re celebrating 20 years. But Founder Sue Stultz began collecting turkeys at her Irving store years before that, and she says the community always comes through the make the drive a success.
4241 turkeys are needed by December 8th to ensure that every person in Southeast New Brunswick has a turkey on their table at Christmas time..
“The people of the Greater Moncton area come together to make sure this happens. It belongs to them. It is their turkey drive. The firefighters, my husband and myself are there to bring in the turkeys, but I’ll guarantee that they will make it happen because this is their Christmas,” Stultz says.
This year’s total is down slightly from last year, at 4315.
(Photos: Sue Stultz and Dale Hicks–1st photo
Christopher Jackson and Eli Mattatall–third photo)