Torrance Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving 2024
Thank you for another generous year of thankfullness. In 2024 we provided the workers and residents of the 3290 Temporary Housing Village and a warm, traditional Thanksgiving meal. We were also able to extend this blessing to the Manor House, a local nursing home, thanks to your abundant generosity totaling 200 meals between the two facilities.
Our goal for 2025 is 300 meals!!! We do need your support to meet this need in our community. Check out our volunteer page for all the different ways you can help.
Here is what happened in 2024!
In 2015 Susan Sanborn, Director/Curator of the Toyota USA Auto Museum in Torrance, had a dream of making Thanksgiving dinner available to those in her community for those who could not afford it. After reaching out to several churches, she approached Torrance Church of the Nazarene, now South Bay Church of the Nazarene, with her idea.
That first year was especially challenging. We were trying to create a template for the event with the input of several different volunteer groups. Everyone worked well together, but there were a lot of moving parts. While the Church of the Nazarene had sufficient space for the event, we had a relatively small congregation. It couldn't be done alone; they needed the help of their community.
Looking back, the challenges faced that first year helped shape the event to what it is now. Lovingly referred to by our leadership team as a modern day "loaves and fish" miracle (based on the biblical account of Jesus feeding 5,000+ people with five small loaves of bread and two small fish, read the full account HERE), volunteers come from far and wide to cook, package, and distribute the meals.
The museum, now closed, has left a legacy far greater than their cars. Torrance Thanksgiving now feed hundreds of people each year because of the vision of one woman and the compassion of her community.
