Giving Thanks Through Community

Peekskill honors the giving spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday with the annual Turkey Trot and Community Dinner

By Regina Clarkin

November 28, 2024

What makes a place community? Is it the same geographical location – be it an apartment building, a street, a gym, a job, or a field? In a classic poster from the Syracuse Cultural Workers there are some directives for building community:

Turn off your TV * Leave your house * Know your neighbors
Look up when you are walking * Greet people * Sit on your stoop
Plant Flowers * Use your library * Play together
Buy from local merchants * Share what you have * Help a lost dog
Take children to the park * Garden Together * Support Neighborhood Schools
Fix it even if you didn’t break it * Have Pot Lucks * Honor Elders
Pick Up Litter * Read Stories Aloud * Dance in the Street
Talk to the Mail Carrier * Listen to the Birds * Put up a Swing
Help Carry Something Heavy * Barter For Your Goods * Start A Tradition
Ask A Question * Hire Young People for Odd Jobs * Organize a Block Party
Bake Extra and Share * Ask For Help When You Need It * Open Your Shades
Sing Together * Share Your Skills * Take Back the Night
Turn Up The Music * Turn Down The Music * Listen Before You react To Anger
Mediate A Conflict * Seek To Understand * Learn From New And Uncomfortable Angles
Know That No One is Silent Though Many Are Not Heard
Work To Change This

Knowing your neighbors and sharing what you have are the foundations for creating community and that is something Peekskill does especially well. Saturday’s Turkey Trot, sponsored by Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CHHOP) has become a true community event with people walking, running, trotting and wheeling food for those who are in need. The organization gave away 700 turkeys and fresh vegetables this year, an increase of some 400 due to the generosity of an angel donor. And the giveaway was a fun event with a balloon arch, a DJ, and lots of energy. Winning the one-mile race were Lily Day and Eric Rohm.

That energy translated into goodwill a few hours later at the 3rd Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, hosted at the Red Door Creative Space. The event brings together anyone in the community who wanted a delicious meal, good music and company. Originally the brainchild of the Dunkley family, the event grew to involve their friends, businesses and the larger community in feeding some 700 people on Saturday afternoon. Students and adult volunteers dished out food and members Zeta Amicae served as waitresses.The meal is in honor of Greg Jones, a man who exemplified what it means to be a community member.

All photos by Chloe Trieff.

About the Contributor

Regina Clarkin, Editor and Publisher

When the Peekskill Herald weekly newspaper ceased publishing in August 2000 it was the first time in the history of the city that there wasn’t a local newspaper. The award-winning weekly was often referred to as the ‘glue’ of the community. Founded on January 9, 1986 by Regina Clarkin, Kathy Daley and Rich Zahradnik with a $7,000 credit card line, the paper filled the void created when the daily Evening Star was sold to Gannett and moved out of town. Founding publisher Regina Clarkin continued to live in the Peekskill Cortlandt area and turned her attention to other life endeavors. Through the ensuing 19 years, Clarkin was frequently stopped in town and asked when she would start up the Herald again. In January 2019, Clarkin decided it was less labor intensive to deliver a weekly blog than a print newspaper so she began posting one story a week about life in Peekskill. After a successful crowd funding campaign in 2020, the Herald was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in July of 2021. Peekskill Herald is a digital relative of the former print edition, featuring many of the favorite aspects of the beloved Peekskill Herald such as old pictures, personality profiles and well written stories about newsworthy events. Regina Clarkin is the editor and publisher of the site. Photo by Joe Squillante