United Way of King County is out and about in your community! We’re keeping an eye and a pulse on happenings, events, organizations and activities throughout King County as we work toward a racially just community where all people have homes, students graduate and families are financially stable.

We’re in These Streets is an occasional blog post that highlights your community. Today, we highlight the 8^th Annual Thanksgiving Feast, which was held on November 19 at the Kent Parks & Recreation Teen Center.

The event was sponsored in part by Glover Empower Mentoring, a community-based organization that offers mentoring and case management services to youth and young adults. Glover Empower Mentoring is part of the Black Community Building Collective, a group of 15 Black nonprofit groups who help determine how United Way funding can support equitable recovery and long-term viability of King County’s Black community.

On Saturday evening at the Kent Parks & Recreation Teen Center, they held a Thanksgiving supper and a party broke out. Or was it the other way around?

It wasn’t easy to tell at the 8^th Annual Thanksgiving Feast. The event sponsored by Glover Empower Mentoring, Kent Parks & Recreation and the Kent School District featured scrumptious food, great karaoke music, dancing, singing and giveaways. The event brings together the entire Kent community for a festive evening and a meal (plus seconds) that proved to be a hit with everyone’s tastes.

Then there was the event’s resource room, where attendees were invited to take home free items, including turkeys, coats, backpacks, lotion, portable heaters and baby formula. “We’re just giving back to the community and making sure our community is happy and whole,” said Kendrick Glover, CEO of Glover Empower Mentoring.

Saturday’s event is one of two slated for the Thanksgiving holiday by Black Community Building Collective members. On Thanksgiving Day, REACH Renton will host its Thanksgiving Meal from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Luther’s Table, a non-profit coffee shop and gathering space in Renton.

REACH (which stands for Renton Ecumenical Association of Churches) is a collection of faith and community groups in the Renton area that provide shelter, hot meals, clothing and supplies to marginalized communities.