The 15th Annual Troop Turkey Drive continues to be the largest fundraising event that Troop Real Estate, Inc. has every year. By raising approximately $70,000 to purchase food from Albertsons, over 3,100 families (a minimum of 25,000 people) received a full Thanksgiving dinner this year.

This event is supported by many generous donors, and relies on over 26 corporate sponsors, including Albertsons, All Valley Escrow, Better Health and Wellness, Consumer's Title Co., DCH Toyota of Simi Valley, Dr. Victor Muradian DDS, Farmers Insurance, First Honda, First Kia, First Nissan, Harrison Industries, Infiniti of Thousand Oaks, Kirby Auto Group of Ventura, Prospect Mortgage, Rusnak BMW, Simi Auto Spa, Simi Hills Men's Club, Simi Sunset Rotary, Simi Valley Buick/GMC, Simi Valley Hospital, Skinny Wimp Moving Co., TRC Medical, Union Bank of Simi Valley, Wells Fargo Mortgage, Troop Real Estate, Inc. and Utopia Entertainment, as well as hundreds of private donors and volunteers who were also involved. Troop Real Estate was able to meet both goals to feed over 25,000 people and encourage more community involvement than ever before.

All turkeys and trimmings were distributed Thursday, November 20 through Monday, November 24. Each qualified family received a 14-18 lb turkey and all the trimmings for a complete Thanksgiving feast. The turkeys were larger than expected this year, so the food went further, leaving families generous amounts of leftovers to carry on through the weekend.

The Troop Turkey Drive thanked 750 U.S. Naval families for their service at the Seabee Base in Port Hueneme with a turkey dinner, assisted scholarship families through the Boys and Girls Club and hundreds of other families selected by food agencies in Ventura County communities. The food was moved by Skinny Wimp Movers, and volunteers delivered Thanksgiving meals to non-ambulatory seniors, touching thousands of lives.

There were four main distribution areas: Troop Real Estate, Inc. of Simi Valley fed both Simi Valley and Moorpark areas, Troop Real Estate, Inc. of Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks both fed areas within the Conejo Valley, Troop Real Estate, Inc of Ventura fed the families of Ventura, Oxnard and Channel Islands, and Troop Real Estate, Inc. of Santa Paula and Ojai both fed families in that area of the valley.

"Thank you to our huge Troop family for your hard work, support and kindness," said CEO Brian Troop. "This idea that started with 10 families has grown to have a major positive impact on families in need in all of our communities."

This community outreach program was launched by Troop Real Estate's Simi Valley Realtor® Alex Gandel in 1999 to collect funds to purchase the fixings for a complete Thanksgiving meal and distribute the food to qualified families through food banks in their local areas. A continued practice company-wide year after year, the Troop Turkey-A-Thon enjoys continued success due to support and efforts from the Troop family of agents, affiliates, private volunteers, donors and corporate sponsorships.

Every year, Troop Real Estate professionals throughout Ventura County reach out to their friends, family and clients for donations. Troop hopes to inspire more community involvement each year to help change the face of poverty and starvation in our communities. Every donation makes a big difference!

For more information or to continue donating for next year, contact your Troop Real Estate professional, or call 805.426.0623, email turkeydrive@troop.com, or visit www.troopturkeyathon.com.