‘We had to step forward.’ Palmetto football legend teams with sheriff to feed 200 families
Cars rolled into the parking lot of Lincoln Memorial Academy as volunteers handed out 200 boxes of turkeys and all the Thanksgiving fixings, but the annual event almost didn’t happen this year.
The fourth annual Ray Bellamy and Sheriff Rick Wells turkey giveaway on Tuesday had to undergo some changes this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When public safety is your top priority, as it is for Wells, you do something safely, or perhaps don’t do it at all.
“I’ll be honest, I thought we weren’t going to be able to do it,” Bellamy said.
Bellamy said Wells never shied away for a moment from doing the event, it was just a matter of how.
“He said, ‘Yeah, we can do it. We’ll figure out a way,’ and we did, we got it done,” Bellamy said. “It’s wonderful to have this kind of support.”
Wells and Bellamy each said the annual event would not be possible without the other. It’s not cheap, but between Bellamy, internal fundraising at the sheriff’s office and community business donations, it’s going to be a good Thanksgiving for hundreds of local families.
Bellamy has never forgotten how the community helped him through his times of need and though the Palmetto football legend moved out of the area many years ago, he knew in his heart that he had to return one day to give back. He’s always been a giver, doing similar events across the state, “But I felt bad, I had not returned to the community that gave me so much,” he said.
So four years ago, the 1967 Lincoln Memorial High graduate teamed up with Wells to make sure those in need here had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving with a smile.
Bellamy, the first Black player to ever be recruited by the University of Miami, used to go to school without shoes because he had none to wear. He knows what it’s like to struggle, to see his family struggle, to go hungry, but also to see the amazing things that can happen when the community rallies behinds its own.
“It’s critical that we give our assistance to our community, and to the people that make up our community,” Bellamy said. “Simply because of the challenges we’ve had as a country and as citizens in this country. So it was really important this year because a lot of people lost their jobs. A lot of people don’t have anything. If we were ever to step forward, this was the year to do it.”
A small army of sheriff’s deputies and Bradenton and Palmetto police officers, as well as Florida Highway Patrol troopers, spent the morning packing and loading the boxes. Families typically come inside the school to pick up their meals but this year, organizers moved it into the parking lot for a drive-thru service to make sure everybody is as safe as possible.
“It’s been a very difficult year,” Wells said. “Unfortunately, when we’re involved in a situation, we can’t always be concerned about putting on a mask and gloves. We don’t have that time, so we just have to react when you have a crisis in front of you. Deputies have done an outstanding job trying to protect themselves and the public, but it’s been difficult.”
Wells said that’s why it was more important than ever to not only hold this year’s event, but to continue to stay involved with community projects, knowing it’s been a stressful time for everyone.
“I don’t think there is anything more important than giving back to the community,” Wells said. “We’re just really happy to be a part of something that makes people happy during such a terrible year. As long as we can come together and help people out right now, especially in their time of need, it’s a good thing for all of us.”
Bellamy said people are hurting more than ever.
“We had to step forward,” he said. “We have so many things going in our country right now and what I hope it means to people, what I hope they understand, is that we are in this together, all of us. We as a community are no stronger than the weakness of a single person. The greatest resource we have is each other.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 11:36 AM.