GiveThanksing 2018–the AMT Way!

What the heck is GiveThanksing?

Each year, the logistics crews at AM Transport Services and Squirrel Works coordinate with the Richland County School Middle School’s Fifth Block program to provide a pre-Thanksgiving Meal to the kids enrolled in the after school program. We call it GiveThanksing.

GiveThanksing is an event the folks at AM Transport look forward to every year. Jordan Pottorff, who organized the dinner this year, speaks for everyone involved with the project when he says,

“I think this is one of the coolest things we do at AM Transport. One of our core values is community and I can’t think of anything else that exemplifies this more than GiveThanksing. It’s a great time for everyone here at AM Transport and it’s very rewarding knowing that we are able to provide a great meal and experience for the RCMS kids.”

Colby cooks the turkeys on the AMT grill, R2BQ.

Smells Good!

Looks good too!

So how does GiveThanksing work?

Jordan started working on the project about a month ahead of the big day. He collaborated with the RCMS 5th Block teachers for the best date and reserved the Elm Street Christian Church’s kitchen. Then the fun began. He shopped for the ingredients–egg noodles, turkey, butter, potatoes, milk, corn, green beans, bread. He created a schedule for the folks at work too.

Because everyone at AMT loves this event, everyone wanted to work. So Jordan created four shifts, with folks rotating in and out of the office–a cooking shift, a turkey carving/pie cutting shift, a serving shift, and a clean up shift.

We mashed 30 pounds of potatoes. Cooked corn and green beans. Whipped up a huge batch of noodles. Made a roaster full of dressing. Roasted 7 turkeys. Baked and cut 8 pies. And served about 75 kids. (no statistics on the amount of butter we used, but it was a lot)

“My favorite part was seeing how excited the kids were as they walked into the church,” Jordan said. “It was great to see all the smiling faces and know that we were able to provide them with a great meal ahead of Thanksgiving.

Brandon with a big roaster full of delicious turkey!

Avery and Mary Jo cutting pie.

Happy kids in the serving line!

Here at AMT and Squirrel Works, we believe in giving back to the community. We have great schools in Olney. Great schools with great programs. It’s so much fun to spend time with the kids and to work together to create a great meal. The kids are always happy to go home with leftovers. And we leave in the evening, knowing our time was well-spent.

This year, Dallas, wielding a video camera and awesome skills, put together a cool time-lapse video of the event. You can watch the entire event in a few minutes!

Looks like fun, doesn’t it!

It is fun! That’s why we’re already planning on next year!

But fun isn’t all of it. Sure we like to give back, but the truth is that we get more than we give. Each year, we’re surprised and humbled by the joy we experience in the kids’ happy voices, in their laughter and their smiles and their fierce enjoyment of good food and friendship.

That’s why we owe a huge thank you to the hard-working teachers of the RCMS Fifth Block program for allowing us to continue this tradition. A huge thank you to the folks of the Elm Street Christian Church who let us use their kitchen and hall. A huge thank you to the friends and families of the AMT crew for the help in the kitchen and the home-baked pies!

And a big shout-out and thank you to the smiling, thankful kids who celebrated the beginning of the holiday season with us!