Avery, CA…Sayler McPhee is a 7-year-old with a heart of gold in Avery. As fall approached and the leaves started changing color, Sayler was saying how excited she was for Thanksgiving, and talking about the feast she loves to prepare, eat, and share with her family. This sparked the discussion of, “Does everyone celebrate Thanksgiving?” When Sayler realized that due to different circumstances not everyone is able to have a large Thanksgiving feast she was curious how she could help. Recently, Sayler joined the American Heritage Girls, a troop that focuses on faith, family, country, and encourages community service and involvement.

Hoping to learn about and to help her community Sayler put together a food drive in her local Ebbetts Pass Highlands neighborhood. She thought that she would collect the canned goods and take them to the Food Bank. Little did she know just how amazing this neighborhood was but when their neighborhood set out over a hundred bags full of canned goods for donations, and Mr. & Mrs. Self of Big Trees Market very generously offered a large donation of turkeys, and another generous neighbor offered a large donation of Red Apple pies.

Sayler and her mom began reaching out to local schools and clergy to see if there was an immediate need for these Thanksgiving dinners. 30 families. 30 families received a Thanksgiving dinner all because of one little girl and the love and support of an incredibly generous neighborhood.

“It was really nice of my neighborhood to be so kind and helpful. I’m excited for the families to get the boxes. Everyone should be able to have a Thanksgiving dinner,” said Sayler. Avery may be just a small community but it is full of big hearts. Being thankful for what we have and sharing that with others is what Thanksgiving is all about. Thank you Sayler and the Ebbetts Pass Highland neighborhood and we hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!