The Buffalo Sabres partnered with Wegmans and Audacy on Thursday for the return of the annual "Turkeys for Tickets" drive after taking a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
People in Western New York lined up early Thursday morning, as early as 5:30 a.m. EST, at three separate locations to donate their turkeys and receive a voucher good for a pair of tickets to a select Sabres game this season.
While many people showed up to the Wegmans on Orchard Park Road in West Seneca, the Wegmans on Alberta Road in Amherst, or the Perry Street surface lot adjacent to KeyBank Center in Downtown Buffalo to donate and receive their voucher for an upcoming Sabres game, they also came with one purpose in mind: Helping those less-fortunate in the Western New York community.
"It means a lot to us. It means a lot to the people we serve," said Lauren Picone - government affairs manager with FeedMore WNY. "We're in all four counties, and hunger hits every zip code. So it means a lot to us to see people come out. They love the Sabres, but they also love helping their neighbor, which is great."
"In true Buffalo fashion, people are raring to go first thing to come out and support a great cause, come out and support our sports teams, and come out and support our fans and our staff out here," said FeedMore WNY donor engagement director Cait Evans on Thursday. "It's definitely been a 'City of Good Neighbors' kind of turnout, and it's very much appreciated from our community."
Activity at each site was steady throughout the morning with plenty of contributions coming from all across the community. According to Heather Mattiuzzo - manager of marketing and development for the Buffalo City Mission - the Amherst location had received, at least, over 400 turkeys, with plenty more collected in West Seneca and at KeyBank Center.
"It's been pretty steady," Mattiuzzo said. "We haven't really had any lulls, which is fantastic. We were a little bit nervous with this being the first year back since the pandemic, we weren't able to do it last year. But the community woke up early with us and came and dropped off turkeys. It was wonderful."
"It was unfortunate that we weren't able to host that last year, so I think we're all pretty excited to be here," said Wegmans spokeperson Michele Mehaffy on Thursday. "The atmosphere is pretty upbeat despite the weather, and it's nice to see people dropping off turkeys. Everyone's in a good mood. It's really nice. Buffalo is really the City of Good Neighbors, and people come out when there's a good cause."
Despite the weather being wet and windy for most of the turkey drive, the staff in attendance was just grateful to see the flow of people coming in to support each organization. In return, the community showed their gratitude to the people gathering the turkeys for those in need this Thanksgiving.
"Everyone has been very excited to see us. Lots of thank yous, lots of 'you're still out here in the rain' and 'of course we are.' The people have been very excited," Evans said. "The way that people are excited to show their support is very reassuring, and again, a reflection of our community. That's been, kind of, the biggest reaction this morning. A lot of thanking us for being here when it's really we're thanking them for coming out so early and showing their support."
Also among the people helping gather turkeys for the Buffalo City Mission and FeedMore WNY included some prominent names associated with the Sabres. People like Rob Ray, Martin Biron, Larry Playfair and Brian Duff rose before the sun to show up and do their part for the cause.
"Like kind of the U.S. Postal Service, come rain, sleet, snow, hail, people are going to be here," said Duff, who hosts "The Instigators" with Biron on WGR Sports Radio 550. "Typically we've been usually really, really cold, and this year it's a little unpleasant with the rain but not terrible. No one seems to be deterred. We, once again, have - even before we technically are starting - a really long line here, which is great to see."
"This is all part of a major collective effort within the community at times like this. You feel like everyday someone is doing something, and the fact that we get to do this at this time every year, and it never changed. The generosity is huge. The opportunity just to interact with people for a couple of quick seconds makes their day, it makes our day, and at the end of the day, obviously some tremendous beneficiaries in the community."
As for someone like Playfair, he's been an integral part of the Sabres Alumni Association and the Buffalo community for several years past his playing days. He knows a thing or two about how much people are willing to make a difference for those in need.
"Honestly, it just makes you feel good about living in the city of Buffalo," said the former Sabres defenseman. "We had a guy come down today, and he's been down several years in a row. Another lady showed up, she had twins in the back of her car, and twins, I mean they were maybe a couple months old. She brought in two turkeys. People are just really amazing."
The overall message from many helping out at this year's "Turkeys for Tickets" drive rang very clear: Buffalo is and always will be the City of Good Neighbors.
"This is our busiest time of year, but it's really great," said Mattiuzzo. "Buffalo is really the City of Good Neighbors. They rally together, they get up early (in the rain) and they donate turkeys. They get Sabres tickets out of it, which is phenomenal, but it's still been great to see everybody rally. Buffalo is truly the best city in the world."