Live to give.
That’s the motto that Amber and Phil Ogle frequently tell their seven children. But for the Ogles, it’s more than just a motto. It’s a core principle by which to operate as a unit.
For 11 years, the Ogles have put on an event called Thanksgiving in a Basket. Originally, they would typically host a get-together at their home the weekend before Thanksgiving to serve homemade food and spend time with family and friends. They assembled several baskets with Thanksgiving items to donate to people in need, and they also accepted monetary donations to sponsor a basket that the Ogles would assemble and donate, as well.
In their first year, the Ogles made five total baskets to donate. Last year, they were forced to rent a U-Haul truck as they made 241 baskets.
This year, the interest in the event has grown so large that the Ogles will have a drive-thru in their driveway where they will hand out warm food as community members drive up with their donations from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. The Ogles, under their 501c3 charity ELGO — Everyday Love Giving with the Ogles, will donate roughly the first 100 baskets to the Family Support Center in Olympia and the rest will go to residents in Yelm at Yelm City Park.
Steele Barrel BBQ Company has donated its macaroni and cheese and brisket chili for the event, and other snacks including chips, cookies, soda and water will be available. Baskets can include turkey, stuffing, pie, potatoes, rolls, green beans, corn, gravy or any other Thanksgiving treat.
“I’m just extremely grateful. It takes a huge amount of preparation for me off my plate. Of course, Steele Clayton with Steele Barrel BBQ is absolutely wonderful, and he’s a good man, so it was a win-win all around,” Amber Ogle said.
Ogle said the idea to start the event came from one of her children, who asked about how homeless people eat Thanksgiving dinner.
“We were in our living room doing laundry. We always help with the homeless, and one of the kids had asked, ‘How do the homeless eat on Thanksgiving?’ I explained to them that sometimes people don’t have Thanksgiving at all,” she said. “They went on to say, ‘Well, how can we help them?’ I was a cheerleader coach at the time, and my oldest daughter asked if we could ask the cheerleaders to donate some food and we could make meals to bring to the homeless. We took that idea and we were like, ‘What should we call it?’ They pointed to the laundry basket and said, ‘How about Thanksgiving in a Basket?’”
Ogle loves that her children get to be heavily involved in this event and see the impact their generosity can make on people in need.
“The biggest gift for Phil and me is for our kids. From basically the moment they’re born, giving is not even a thought to them. Giving is the way to go. You live to give,” she said. “The biggest impact it has made on our own hearts is how it impacts our children’s hearts. Seeing families come up with their own children and our children handing food to these other children, walking them to their car and helping them load up, giving them a hug or a high five and saying, ‘Happy Thanksgiving,’ that’s the biggest impact for Phil and me is to see how it’s natural for our kids to give.”
Through organizing the event and bringing it to fruition each year, Ogle acknowledges that the community plays a crucial role in the fundraiser’s growth and wants to emphasize that the event is a “we thing” and not an “Ogle thing.”
“What I love most is not only does our family get to do this together and the lives that we impact, but each year, more and more of the community gets involved. People figure out what Thanksgiving in a Basket is, and then they want to help others,” Ogle said.
The Ogles encourage interested people to donate dry goods any day of the month, but the cold goods will have to wait until the “drop-off date,” a couple days before Thanksgiving. For those interested in sponsoring a basket, $90 will feed a whole family of four or more people, while $50 will sponsor a half basket and $30 can pay for a quarter of a basket.
Community members can also donate through PayPal, Bongasgirls@gmail.com, or Venmo, @Amber-Ogle. To learn more, visit the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/528516983360317/.
