The Santa Clarita charity Thankful Giving is set to distribute 2,000 Thanksgiving meals to residents in need, including homeless individuals, veterans and first responders.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, several volunteers came together for the eighth year in a row to prepare 2,000 Thanksgiving meals for those who may not otherwise have them.

“Every year since 2012, we have done meals for people that wouldn’t otherwise have a homemade Thanksgiving meal,” said Martha Aguilera, founder of Thankful Giving. “It was important to have them feel the kind of love that we feel when we make food for our families.”

When Aguilera first began preparing Thanksgiving meals eight years ago, she made 100 by herself.

“I understand homelessness — I’ve experienced it myself before — and then I also understand what it’s like to really miss like that whole family experience,” Aguilera said. “The holidays can be the happiest times, but they can also be the saddest if you’re missing certain things. So I wanted to spread it, a little bit of the things that I had been blessed with since then, and 100 meals is manageable for me cause I wanted to do it by myself.”

Aguilera funded the project on her own for the first four years before she eventually began to accept monetary donations and Costco gift cards to help offset some of the costs.

“We don’t really ask for them, but we do like if people offer it, or (if) we post on Facebook about it, like a link for it,  because it just does get really expensive,” Aguilera said.

The meals are set to go to several different groups of people, including: homeless populations in Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley and Skid Row; first responders and emergency room staff; women’s shelters, children’s shelters and recovery centers; and local families where a member has cancer.

“We just go wherever the need is,” Aguilera said.

Additionally, 150 of this year’s meals are set to be distributed to local veterans and their families through the Santa Clarita Veteran Services Collaborative.

“I brought the meals from Martha,” said Ed Bernstein, who introduced Aguilera to officials from the collaborative. “This is what we do. We’re known for connecting the dots that people don’t see.”

Both Aguilera and Bernstein emphasized the importance of demonstrating charity and kindness not just during the holiday season, but throughout the year.

“My challenge to people is, … if you like what you see at Thanksgiving and you feel like you can’t help right now or you’re just too busy, just pick a date throughout the different times of the year where you could do it,” Aguilera said.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.