[KHTS] – Santa Clarita residents are invited to South Valley Church’s 10th annual “Giving Thanks Giving” event on Thursday.

“This event is a great time for the community to get together,” said Pastor Kevin Pisano of South Valley Church.

The free Thanksgiving event began in 2004 when Roger and Shannon Hasper, former owners of the Newhall Bicycle Co., decided to invite a few friends and neighbors to join them for a Thanksgiving meal at the back of their shop on Main Street.

What started out as a turkey with some fixings and a table full of clothes, the event has now turned into a community event with volunteers providing food, clothing, entertainment and crafts for the kids for the past nine years.

The local event is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Regarding entertainment at the event, Pisano said four different bands will be performing.

There will also be a bike giveaway to students at local elementary schools.

Although the Hasper’s have since closed up shop and moved out of state, they have handed the baton off to South Valley Church.

2012 Event

“They wanted (the event) to remain in the community and about the community,” said Pisano.

This year a number of changes have been introduced due to new city policies.

The first change made was location. This year the event will be held at the Newhall Library Parking Lot at 24500 Main Street in Newhall.

The reason for the location change was to avoid the newly enforced Traffic Planning rules and costs to shut Main Street down for the event.

The second change is how food is received. In the past the Hasper’s have had a “Potluck” style event.

The city of Santa Clarita has understandably asked for a County Health Department Event permit which prohibits any food that has not been prepackaged or cooked at a certified kitchen to be distributed.

This has forced South Valley Church to purchase all of the food which will be approximately $9,000-$10,000.

To help the community continue this great event South Valley Church has fronted all the cost for the food but needs help to recover the costs.

To help recover the cost of the event we have created donation tickets for $25 which serve as a donation receipt, but not a ticket into the event.

The clothing drive is also in full swing. Gently used items can be dropped off at South Valley Church.

Pisano said that volunteers for clean-up crew are still needed, as a lot of help will be needed throughout the day of this event.

To volunteer, visit the South Valley Church website, click on Giving Thanks Giving 2014 to sign up to serve on Thanksgiving morning

If you have any questions, please call the church office at 661-259-1515.

– Angelina Bryan