TJ's Turkeys: Cooking Up a Holiday Feast for Kids in Need

Saratoga Springs seems like—and often is—a lush playground for the über-rich.

One of the biggest homes in the country (61,000-plus square feet, with an indoor basketball court, movie theater, bowling alley, sauna, gym and two pools) blends right in with the multi-million-dollar horse-breeding ranches (like the newly minted Sugar Plum Farm, home to the prized Stallion War Dancer) that dot the landscape, and seems of apiece with the gala-studded gilded lifestyle of its denizens (it seems there’s at least one major charity benefit a week).

But behind the glimmering golden spurs, Hermés scarves and Louis Vuitton luggage sets, there are a lot of Saratogians unable to afford three square meals a day.

“I’ve always loved Thanksgiving; it’s just one big feast with tons of sides and desserts, and extra time with friends and family,” TJ Tracy, 18, explains over an order of bacon and coffee recently. “It’s always been something I look forward to, so I’ll never forget the feeling I had when my mom explained that not everyone in Saratoga had the money to afford a real Thanksgiving meal.”

Of the roughly 220,000 people in Saratoga County, approximately 6.3% are living in poverty, according to the most recent numbers from the New York State Community Action Organization. About 3,120 of those people are children. People who teeter on the verge of poverty often have trouble covering their daily needs, and as TJ’s mother, Beverly, pointed out, ponying up extra cash for turkey and sides is beyond the reach of many.

TJ was only nine years old when Beverly alerted him to the meal gap in his beloved hometown, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to hurtle headlong into his favorite feast without sharing his bounty with his less affluent neighbors. So instead of doing his best to forget the empty fridges come November, he decided to help fill them.

“I grew up believing that Saratoga is a community that cares, and this project has reaffirmed that,” TJ says. “There’s definitely a lot of affluence here, but there’s also a real willingness to help.”

TJ’s mother, Beverly, an entrepreneur and single mother of two with her own interior design firm in town, was more than willing to lend a sympathetic ear, advice and logistical support, but she chose not to helicopter over every detail. (He says in retrospect that she likely wanted him to lead the way in terms of strategy to see how committed he was to the project). TJ did what entrepreneurial nine-year-olds do: He canvased his neighborhood and wrote notes to friends and family.

“I just basically walked around my neighborhood with my little brother and asked people for help,” TJ recalls. “I was really shy then, so my brother, Josh, who’s two years younger, did the talking. And I wrote letters to people explaining that I was raising money to provide Thanksgiving dinners to people who couldn’t afford them.”

In 2009, TJ’s Turkeys was born. While most earnest fundraising eff orts born out of a child’s wide-eyed idealism eventually fade like summer tans, TJ’s Turkeys presence in the community has intensifi ed over the years.

That first year, he raised $200. He decided to donate the funds to Saratoga’s Franklin Community Center, a nonprofit dedicated to providing food, clothing, furniture and aff ordable housing to 6,000 Saratogians in need. Since then, TJ’s has experienced the kind of double-digit year-over-year growth that makes Wall Street fat cats purr, going from $200 his first year to last year’s epic haul of $20,000.

Not that TJ is focused on the numbers (wink).

“OK, it has been rewarding to see how the project has grown and developed,” TJ admits. “But it’s far more rewarding to see how it’s growth has made an impact on real families in our community.”

Because these days, TJ’s is about more than just turkeys. Four years ago, he became involved in Franklin’s Project Lift, an after-school prevention program in elementary schools devoted to positive youth development activities and free clothing and snacks after school and when kids are on school breaks.

“For families whose kids are on the free or reduced lunch program at school, we help provide bagged meals when schools are on vacation,” TJ explains. “It helps alleviate the strain.”

Alleviating the strain of others has turned into a full-time job for the National Honor Roll student (who also works weekends waiting tables at The Brook Tavern).

“I spend maybe 20 hours a week on it during the busy season, which is October through December,” TJ says. “Luckily, my social life has grown around it and my brother, Josh, my mom and my core group of best friends are all super involved. We have a call for volunteers every year on Facebook, and I’m always shocked by the number of people who show up to help stuff bags for vacation meals and organize gift card delivery for holiday meals.”

TJ, who is entering his senior year at Saratoga Springs High School, will spend the next year figuring how to make sure TJ’s Turkeys will continue to flourish and grow next year. (He has mapped out an intricate globe-encircling gap year plan, funded by his nascent start-up Serv—that’s another story—and his table-waiting slush fund, before he attends his freshman year of college. TJ says he’s willing to work remotely on the project but worries about WiFi reception in the Amazon, the Australian bush, etcetera.)

The biggest push for money kicks off with Brook Tavern’s annual TJ’s Turkeys fundraiser in late October. (Diners get a full Thanksgiving meal, with 50% of the proceeds going to TJ’s Turkeys.)

None of this would exist, TJ says, without his mother’s guidance and the open arms with which the community has welcomed, supported and nourished the project.

“My mom is my hero,” TJ says. “She raised me to want to help others. To believe that just because you’re a kid doesn’t mean you can’t do what you’re passionate about and make a diff erence in the community at the same time. To see a problem and not only want to fix it but find a way to.”

Thanks to Beverly’s guidance, TJ’s passion and what he calls “the unbelievable generosity of our community” helps ensure that everyone  can have a feast on Thanksgiving. Dig in.

Sugar Plum Farm | @sugar_plum_farm
TJ Tracy | @tj_tracy_
TJ’s Turkeys | @tjs_turkeys
Saratoga’s Franklin Community Center
The Brook Tavern | @brooktavern
Serv | @serv_saratoga