KDKA-TV Turkey Fund recipient pays it forward by sharing Friendsgiving celebration with neighbors
SOUTH HEIGHTS BOROUGH (KDKA) -- We're closing in on Thanksgiving. It's now less than two weeks away and we're working harder than ever to meet our $1 million goal for the 41st annual KDKA-TV Turkey Fund.
Last year, the Turkey Fund help nearly 40,000 people in the Pittsburgh area have a warm Thanksgiving meal. This year, we want to help even more.
On a beautiful autumn afternoon, Richard David of South Heights in Beaver County can't help but marvel at the miracles he's received in his life.
A decade ago, he survived a heart attack. Then, a few years ago, David learned he needed a new kidney. After waiting on a transplant list, he finally got one in July from an anonymous live donor.
"They called and told me that they had a kidney that I matched," David said. "I don't know how to thank someone for giving me a kidney."
Richard is a creative soul -- an artist turned DJ.
"I lived off my artwork in New York City for about 20 years," he said.
After he moved back to the Pittsburgh area, he worked as a DJ in several local bars for 30 years, until the pandemic.
"I just decided, ya know, I have to face the fact -- I'm done," he said.
Now, with the rising costs of everything from gas to groceries, his already-fixed income has been stretched even tighter this year.
"I mean I go in the store and I think, 'How do families live?'" he said.
Last fall, David became a KDKA-TV Turkey Fund recipient for the first time. He went to a last-minute food distribution, but he went with more than just himself in mind.
In the true spirit of the holiday, he shared the blessing of his bounty with a young couple he was friends with so they, and their two young children, could have a warm Thanksgiving meal.
"They were always having trouble meeting bills and stuff, and my sister was out of town, so I wasn't going anywhere for Thanksgiving. So I decided to get the turkey, give it to them and they invited me to Thanksgiving dinner," David said.
Their special Friendsgiving was made possible by you and your donations to the Turkey Fund.
That's why it's so important that you donate to help all of our neighbors in need have a happy Thanksgiving, including the neighbors you might not even realize need the help.
This year, David will be spending Thanksgiving with his sister and her family, grateful for the life he's lived.
"I'm grateful that I'm not in the street 'cause I should have been," he said.
He's also grateful for how the KDKA-TV Turkey Fund helped him last Thanksgiving, but even more grateful to still be here to see many more Thanksgivings to come.
"I can't tell you how many times I'm so thankful that I got this kidney and didn't have to go on dialysis. I think that's what I'll be thankful for every holiday," David said.
If you would like to make a donation to the KDKA-TV Turkey Fund, click here to help our neighbors in need.
