Donnie Vercher, founder of the Dream For Life nonprofit, believes that sharing a meal can uplift and unite a community — a mission carried forward each year through the organization’s annual Thanksgiving dinners.
Dream for Life will host its 12th annual free Thanksgiving dinner for the Woodland and Vancouver communities from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.. The Woodland event will take place at Grace Community Church, located at 1311 Lewis River Road, while the Vancouver dinner will be held at 2711 NE Andresen Road.
Founded by Vercher, owner of Daddy D’s Southern Style BBQ, Dream for Life started over a decade ago with the mission to support and uplift local residents. Vercher was inspired by his son’s actions in sharing food with those in need.
“The way this really started was, my son was giving food out the back door to the community to people. I say, ‘Son, what are you doing?’ He goes, ‘Oh, this guy’s hungry.’ And so we got together and realized there was more need to it, and that’s what you see today,” Vercher said regarding the annual dinner.
Last year, Dream for Life served 7,000 meals across both locations. This year’s meal will include traditional Thanksgiving dishes like ham, turkey, potatoes, gravy and greens, thanks to over a dozen local sponsors, including ilani, Living Hope, Les Schwab and Ace Hardware. Any leftover food will be donated to Share House Men’s Shelter in downtown Vancouver.
“No matter how many people you bring, they’re more than welcome, no one will be turned away,” Vercher said.
The Thanksgiving event also provides community resources and job support. Local organizations including LIUNA Local 335 and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 will be on-site to share information about apprenticeships and job opportunities for those looking to enter the workforce. According to Vercher, the support offered at the event has helped local residents find stability.
“We got guys that are working in construction jobs, working for the shipyards. We mentor guys that were on drugs at the time. Now they’re doing really well. We got truck drivers that are driving trucks now that were heavily into [drugs], but now they’re doing really well for themselves, and so this event reaches out to everyone that needs it,” Vercher said.
For children, the event will offer bounce houses and face painting, while other volunteers will provide free haircuts. Vercher noted that last year, more than 100 volunteers helped make the event possible, and this year, over 160 community members have already committed to preparing and hosting this event.
“I want to say thank you to all the volunteers that come every year to help cut all this meat up. The Woodland girls basketball team comes in and helps open up all the cans of green beans … Volunteers [from] 8 to 10 years old to 90 years old come in every year to help cut it all, open up all the cans of green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. You know, it’s a lot of work, and so I want to say thank you to those volunteers,” Vercher said.
Community members wishing to donate food or funds for the event can do so until Wednesday, Nov. 20. Accepted items include ham, turkey, instant mashed potatoes, gravy, canned green beans, cranberry sauce, milk, butte, and dinner rolls.
Dropoff locations are at Daddy D’s Southern Style BBQ, 7204 NE Fourth Plain Blvd, Vancouver, and 1243 N. Goerig St., Woodland. Readers can go to shorturl.at/99Sza to make a donation or learn more.
