Because of the generosity of local businesses and the hard work and spirit of giving by the Young Leaders Society, 50 families in Baldwin County will have a complete Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy on Thursday.

Twenty volunteers gathered together on Saturday morning at Catholic Social Services in Robertsdale to hand out grocery bags full of turkey, dressing mix, sweet potatoes, green beans, gravy mix, rolls, marshmallows, corn, cranberry sauce, brown sugar, cream of mushroom soup and dessert.

Daniel Galbraith and Marina Simpson, who work for IberiaBank in Fairhope and United Bank in Siverhill, are co-leaders of the newly formed YLS, under the umbrella of the United Way of Baldwin County, and said they came up with the idea about two and a half weeks ago and started trying to solicit donations from local stores.

“We were totally overwhelmed by the response we received. Publix donated 40 turkeys and Naman Meats gave us 10. Dollar General also gave us a lot of canned goods and other things. We are so appreciative for all the donations,” Galbraith said.

Other donations came from Terry Thompson Chevrolet, Elberta Grocery, Walmart and Cain's grocery plus personal donations as well.

Catholic Social Services provided the names of the families and vouchers were given to them and meals would be delivered to those who could not come and pick up them up, said Rebecca Byrne, United Way Executive Director.

Wanting to find a way for younger adults ages 21-40 to become involved in the community, Galbraith and others formed a steering committee and planned a kick-off event for October at Fly Creek Cafe in Fairhope.

“We had about 70 people attend the first meeting and we hope to have 150 members in the next couple of months. We want our age group to know they don’t have to give large monetary donations to be involved. They can give of their time and volunteer their talents to different causes and make just as much of a difference,” Galbraith and Simpson said.

There is no membership fee associated with the YLS and Galbraith said there are three components to the group-networking, fundraising and volunteering. In the next couple of months, they are hoping to start “Lunch-n-Learns” where events and volunteering opportunities can be discussed for those who can’t make it to the evening meetings.

“We have members from all over the county and we picked Robertsdale to distribute the dinners because it was central to everyone. It only took about 30 minutes to box everything up,” Galbraith said.

Byrne said YLS is a great way to “raise awareness that the 42 partner agencies,which we fund, change the lives forever of families in Baldwin County and bring enthusiasm, fresh ideas and a unique perspective to opportunities and challenges in our community.”

To become involved in YLS or learn more about them, call the United Way at (251) 943-2110, visit their website unitedway-bc.org. or email yls@unitedway-bc.org.