The Basket Brigade Brings Dinner and Love

By Tari Perdue

Los Cerros 8th Grade Core Teacher

On Thursday afternoon, students dropped their backpacks at the door, streaming into the multi-purpose room at Los Cerros Middle School to put the finishing touches on a community service project two months in the making.

Robin Greenblatt, Basket Brigade chairwoman, has coordinated the project for the past three years, but the project is a Los Cerros tradition in its 17th year.

As a result of Basket Brigade, 350 families receive a complete Thanksgiving dinner, including canned goods, fresh produce, pantry items and a Safeway gift card to cover the cost of a turkey, all lovingly packed in a brand new laundry basket, thanks to the many hands that get involved.

To personalize the gift even further, each basket includes a toiletry gift bag, a loaf of homemade pumpkin bread and a handmade Thanksgiving greeting card.

It takes a concerted effort of many caring people to make Basket Brigade possible, from students, their parents and Los Cerros staff to community members and dedicated volunteers, all looking outside of themselves to make a difference.

The Produce Exchange, Las Trampas Inc., Rudney Associates, Safeway, Draeger’s and Watchismo.com all give generously to the project.

Students at Los Cerros lovingly create each of the cards that go into the baskets and are also responsible for the canned food drive that provides the staples for each one. Finally, loving hands of parent volunteers bake and wrap homemade pumpkin loaves for each recipient.

All of the effort and materials are organized by Greenblatt and like an orchestra conductor, she made music as it all came together and volunteers in assembly line fashion, within a 30-minute time frame, filled 350 baskets.

On Friday, a caravan of 38 SUV’s lined up in front of Los Cerros to deliver the baskets to nine different organizations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties so that 350 families will know that there are people out there that still care.

This is Greenblatt’s last year to chair the project, but she is already training new volunteers to coordinate the event so the tradition of giving and community service will continue in Danville at Los Cerros.