5 Ways Corporations Are Giving Back To Communities This Thanksgiving

Volunteering at a food pantry, running in a Turkey Trot to support a local cause, tossing change into Salvation Army kettle, or even hosting a Friendsgiving dinner, there are plenty of ways for individuals to give back this season. But what about corporations? How are they giving back to the communities they serve? Here are five interesting ways corporations are making a difference this Thanksgiving:

Baldor Specialty Foods provides over 500 meals to its underserved Hunts Point, South Bronx neighbors

Baldor Specialty Foods, Inc. / Via bxtimes.com

Each Thanksgiving, Baldor Specialty Foods, one of the Northeast's largest produce distributors, works with its vendors and employee volunteers to provide complete Thanksgiving-In-A-Box meals for hundreds of underserved families in its South Bronx neighborhood.

Ally Bank celebrates "Banksgiving" by recognizing and rewarding several of its customers who selflessly give back to their communities.

Ally Bank / Via vimeo.com

As part of its annual "Banksgiving" program, Ally reached out and supported some of its most truly special customers. Here are their stories:

Angel is an army veteran and single mom in Houston who helps the homeless even though she herself had to give up her home and live in a hotel with her 12-year-old daughter. For Banksgiving, Ally Bank rented Angel a home for the year.

Ryne, who lost his dad to addiction, now helps others at a detox center in Portland – but the center doesn’t have enough money to support all in need. For Banksgiving, Ally donated $35,000 to the center.

Vince brings the art of dancing to underserved communities in Los Angeles but since California cut school dance programs, his efforts have moved out of the classroom and onto a YouTube channel. For Banksgiving, Ally has underwritten a dance program in Vince’s local community.

In Portland, It's okay to Give A Cop The Bird!

WGME News - Portland, OR / Via wgme.com

The grocery store Shaws has teamed up with local police in Westbrook, Orgeon for their annual, Give A Cop The Bird donation event. Citizens are urged to give police food and monetary donations that will go to make Thanksgiving a little brighter for the area's food insecure.

CentraCare Health Holds Annual "Wishbone Run" in St. Cloud, Minnesota

Bernick's FItness / Via knsiradio.com

Braving the Minnesota cold, running enthusiasts gather on Thanksgiving for a 5k run, one of the state's best attended. It's a great way to build a calorie deficit before the big Thanksgiving meal, and for the less physcially inclinded, there's also a 2-Mile Adult's Walk.

Stop & Shop Supermarkets visit Harlem, NY to give out 500 Thanksgiving Turkeys

Food Bank, NYC / Via amny.com

Since 2001, the Stop & Shop grocery store chain has donated thousands of frozen turkeys, chickens and fresh fruits and vegetables to food banks around the city's five boroughs. This year, frozen turkey-filled Stop and Shop trucks will drop off 1,500 additional birds and ingredients for side dishes at Food Bank locations throughout NYC.