During this holiday season, The Historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church of Tallahassee, Florida, continues its tradition of giving to the community with its annual Thanksgiving Basket Distribution.
Bethel AME Church has hosted a Thanksgiving distribution to the Tallahassee community for over 30 years. On November 9, 2024, Bethel AME Church hosted its annual event, giving out Thanksgiving baskets to historically underserved families within the Tallahassee community.
Mrs. Connie E. Jenkins Pye, Board of Trustees member and usher at Bethel AME Church, helped plan the Thanksgiving event and reflected on the importance of distributing the baskets.
“This year, it was a gift of love, making someone happy for Thanksgiving,” Jenkins Pye said. “We make the assumption that everybody has a happy Thanksgiving, but we don’t know a person’s situation.”
Members of Bethel AME started planning the event in May and set the goal to distribute over 175 baskets to the community. Each basket consisted of corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, cornbread mix, a bag of rice, black-eyed peas, turkey necks, collard greens, and a turkey.
Dr. Kyle Harris, a History and African American Studies professor at FAMU is a member of the Board of Stewards at Bethel AME Church and volunteered alongside students in his AMH course, the FAMU softball team, and some members of the Marching 100. After the distribution, Dr. Harris reflected on the event’s significance to him as a professor.
“For the past 17 years, I have witnessed the anti-racist principles and practices found in my History and African American Studies courses consistently carried out through the progressive and inclusive community in-reach and outreach services at the Bethel AME Church,” Harris said.
“These public service initiatives have made a positive impact on the southside of Tallahassee, Florida, and I want my students to be a part of this transformative movement.”
Volunteers gathered at Bethel AME Church at 4:30 a.m. to help prepare the baskets and set them up for distribution. One volunteer, Shania Brown, a second-year political science student at FAMU, spoke about her experience and how she feels she made a difference.
“You can tell we were giving back to a community that needed the service we were providing; I feel like I made somebody smile harder today,” said Brown.
The efforts of Bethel AME Church of Tallahassee, Florida, and students at FAMU continue to express the Thanksgiving tradition of gratitude and a time of service, leaving a lasting impact on families in the community during the holiday season
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