"Pass the Yams!"

My brother, Jeff - - you know, the one who all of you love to see shirtless when I post pictures of our family's annual Hilton Head vacation (seen here with my mother) - - needs some help.

Jeff is the full-time social worker at a school in Atlanta that serves students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders and once a year, he organizes a Thanksgiving Dinner for the students and their families. This year, with economy spiraling downward, he is having a very hard time securing food donations for this event.

So, if anyone is in the Atlanta area with connections to a restaurant or catering company that would be willing to donate some food, or if anyone anywhere would like to make a donation to the event, send my brother an email. His email address is Jeff.Rader@henry.k12.ga.us He would be extremely grateful for your help.

He might even send you a pic of himself with his shirt off. Just sayin'...

Here is the email Jeff sent me about the upcoming Thanksgiving Dinner at his school...

"Mainstay Academy, located at Smith Barnes Elementary School and Patrick Henry High School, is part of the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support. We serve students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders. These students are receiving educational instruction in the most restrictive environments, as they need much individual attention and motivation. We as staff are continually trying to motivate and support our students. Our goal is for our students to make significant behavioral and academic improvements and return to their home schools.

"At Mainstay, we rely on donations to help provide special activities and personal items for our students. One of our biggest activities is the Thanksgiving Dinner that we host for our students and their families. The entire dinner is made possible through donations. Last year we fed almost 170 people!

"We are in need of the following food items to help with our dinner: green beans, dressing, ham, rolls/bread items, corn, sweet potato soufflé, dessert items, tea, and lemonade. A monetary donation will also be welcomed to play for the items that we were unable to get donated.

"The dinner is scheduled for Thursday November 20th, 2008. The food will need to be available for pick up that day. Your contribution is tax deductible."