CLEVELAND, November 21 — For many of us, Thanksgiving is a time for counting our blessings and helping those in need. The members of BLET Division 28 (Tucson, Ariz.) have taken the spirit of Thanksgiving to heart this year, launching a “Turkey Drive” to help families in need.
“Helping the Salvation Army is what we ‘union thugs’ do at Thanksgiving,” said Brother Sean Leighty, a member of Division 28 who helped launch the Turkey Drive.
After learning that Tucson’s Salvation Army needed donations for the annual community dinner, the members of BLET Division 28 sprang in to action to help the needy.
“They needed 500 turkeys and pies, as well as other food items, but they didn’t have anything just three weeks before Thanksgiving,” he said. “I thought, ‘I could do something to help,’ and then I thought, ‘Why not use the network of people I know and work with who are just as blessed as I am?’”
With the help of Division 28 Local Chairman Ron Sprague, Leighty contacted the members of Division 28 for help.
“I sent an email to Ron and wondered what we could do as a group to help,” Leighty said. “Ron forwarded that email to our Brothers and Sisters, and it took off from there.”
The word spread like wildfire. Several members called Brother Leighty and asked what they could do to help. He set up a collection box at the yard office, receiving many generous cash contributions from anonymous donors and also several personal checks. All told, he collected $300 in just a few days.
“I’m sure we could have raised more but I was under a time constraint because I wanted to get those birds over to the Salvation Army as soon as we could,” he said.
Brother Leighty then took his family to a local grocery store, where they used the donations to purchase the turkeys.
“We asked the store manager if we could possibly buy all of her turkeys, and her question was why we needed so many,” Brother Leighty said. “I told her that the BLET was going to donate them to the Salvation Army. She was impressed and said to take as many as we needed, and she gave us another 5 percent discount. So with her help as well, we managed to buy 20 turkeys of various sizes!”
Individual members helped as well. In addition to making a monetary donation to the Turkey Drive, Division 28 member Linda Gasser and a friend also bought four more turkeys, a ham and other food items.
It was a proud moment for Brother Leighty and the BLET when he delivered the turkeys.
“You should have seen the face of the woman at the Salvation Army,” he said. “When she asked who was donating the turkeys, I told her the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen/Teamsters. She said, ‘Wow, tell them thank you!’”
Brother Leighty hired out with the Union Pacific in October of 2000 and entered engine service in 2004. He joined BLET Division 28 on June 1, 2005, and currently works a road job between Tucson and Yuma, Ariz.
Leighty said he hopes the efforts of Division 28 will inspire others to get involved. “I didn’t want this to be a story about me, but if it will get other members interested in helping their communities, then I am all for that.”
“I consider myself, and my family, very lucky to have what I have today,” Brother Leighty said. “It’s through hard work from me and very hard work from my wife Helen (as she is a ‘single’ mother when I’m at work) — and the support and security I have from being a union member.”
After buying the turkeys, the Brothers and Sisters of Division 28 had enough money left over to make a $75 donation to the Salvation Army. Brother Leighty thanked those who helped, saying, “There are some very generous members at Division 28.” He is hoping to do it again next year.
Dennis R. Pierce, National President of the BLET, thanked Brother Leighty, Chairman Sprague, and the members of Division 28 for their generosity.
“Thanksgiving is a time to express our gratitude for the many blessing we have received throughout the year and over the course of our lives,” President Pierce said. “These expressions of gratitude can take on many different forms, and for me, it is especially inspiring when it takes the form of generous union members like our Brothers and Sisters in Division 28 helping the needy. I thank all involved for their efforts. By their actions, they have embodied the true spirit of Thanksgiving, proving again that union members are proud and caring Americans.”