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Robinson Park Recreation Center will be the location for City Councilmember John Kennedy’s annual Turkey Giveaway, but the big side dish is possible employment.
Kennedy’s Community Resource Fair and Annual Turkey Giveaway is the new name for the anticipated annual event that takes place every year around Thanksgiving.
Free turkeys to families in need will go hand in hand with potential job placement this year. For the first time, District 3 Councilmember and former Vice Mayor Kennedy has recruited around 50 employers to be on hand to meet with people in need of assistance.
“Before I came on the Council there were a number of nonprofits in the community that provided some assistance for families,” Kennedy said. “When I was a kid Friends Indeed helped our family of 12 every year with a basket or something around the holiday season.”
Kennedy said that “then-Mayor Bill Bogaard had a tradition of providing turkeys to the community as well.
“My desire is to uplift my community with a little bit of love and assistance around the holidays,” Kennedy said. “The first thing we do is provide turkeys to anyone who comes to our community meeting taking place tomorrow at Robinson Park. But this year we’re going to do something a little different. We’re having a jobs and resource fair that’s included with the community meeting tomorrow in the hope that there will be employers and people looking for jobs who can make a connection.”
Kennedy said that gathering potential employers to connect with job-seekers is just a small way to provide relief for his constituents.
“My district has the most economic-impacted challenges and I am empathetic to that and I want to help provide assistance to my constituents,” he said.
The event will be a fun experience that’s intended to get people networking.
“This year, we’ll have a passport system, where you can take a passport to each station and they’ll give you a sticker,” he said. “Once you get six stickers in your passport, meaning you have visited each table, you’ll get a special gift. You become a traveler in jobs and at the resource fair it means you have made contact with at least six of the various tables.”
Employers and Workforce Development on Hand
Workforce Development of Pasadena will be represented at the event, Kennedy said.
Expected on hand are Mayor Terry Tornek and Assemblyman Chris Holden who will address the group, and there are businessmen and women making donations to make the event happen.
“We are grateful to donors and contributors to share their employment opportunities with the community,” Kennedy said. “It’s extraordinary the way they’re stepping up. ”
California’s Employment Development Department, Lincoln Properties and Metro are among the organizations expected to be on hand, Kennedy said.
The employment issue is a longtime concern of Kennedy.
“This is one step in moving towards full employment in the City of Pasadena and towards making sure people have a livable wage and beyond,” he said.
Kennedy said his District 3 is still working to improve in several areas.
“We want paying jobs so that people can continue to live in Pasadena where they’re not displaced because they can’t afford it,” he said. “We must pay a livable wage.”
When asked about future plans for his career, Kennedy responded: “My job is to do the best thing I can for the constituents in District 3 and the City as a whole. Hopefully I’m doing that with aplomb and with love and integrity.”
The Turkey Giveaway will take place from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in the Robinson Park Rec Center Multi-Purpose Room, 1081 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena. For more information, email sparras@cityofpasadena.net
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