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Charitable Events Held Throughout Boston Ahead Of Thanksgiving

BOSTON (CBS) – With Thanksgiving just days away, people were in a particularly generous mood on Saturday in Boston and beyond.

Turkeys, rolls, sides. Just about everything a family would need for Thanksgiving was free of charge at the YMCA in Dorchester during a charity event. Mayor Marty Walsh was happy to help.

"This is the part of the job for me that means a lot. Everything else is OK, too. Development is great but being with people and helping people is what I love," he said.

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Mayor Marty Walsh hands out turkeys at a Thanksgiving event. (WBZ-TV)

There was absolutely no shortage of food or volunteers.

"We have of volunteers we probably have more volunteers here than we ever had in the past and it's a great thing it's demonstrating that the community generosity is growing," James Morton, with the Dorchester YMCA, said.

Fifteen-year-old Taylor Campbell was one of them.

"It's kind of like an eye opener that not everybody is fortunate like me like other people to be able to provide food for their families," she explained.

She helped give away 250 turkeys and that generosity spread all over the city.

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A massive turkey giveaway was held the weekend before Thanksgiving. (WBZ-TV)

At the West End House Boys and Girls Club in Allston, the Vantage Deluxe World Travel's Vantage Foundation gave away more than a thousand turkeys were given away one man picked up 35 for a local school

"We park at the school and the families show up frequently with the children and we know it's going to make the holiday for them," Don McNemar, a Waltham Family School Volunteer, said.

Cardinal Seán O'Malley gave a helping hand at another Thanksgiving giveaway. Catholic Charities and United Way partnered to hand out over 7,000 meals across 16 local communities.

Saturday, families in Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Lowell and Somerville walked away with a meal.

Cardinal O'Malley believes this is what Thanksgiving stands for.

"The best way that we show that gratitude is by gathering with our families and sharing those gifts with others and it's really a wonderful time people sense of community sense of belonging sense of responsibility," he said.

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