Our Mission and Goals:
Is to promote the health and well being of needy community members in the Orange County and Los Angeles communities and, thereby, make a substantial contribution to their quality of life.
The holidays are the time of year to give thanks for everything that we have. Although Southern California is one of the most affluent areas in the nation, there are a large number of residents who struggle to afford rent as well as food for themselves and their families. There are over 100,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles and Orange County today. 341,000 Orange County residents have an annual income less than $20,000 for the entire family.
Our Goals:
- Provide free meals and food supplies to needy community members on Thanksgiving, Christmas and other special holidays.
- Provide Scholarships to youth from low-income backgrounds.
- Provide assistance through a variety of means to seniors experiencing economic hardship
Our History:
For over 20 years, We Give Thanks has been helping those in need the greater Orange County and Los Angeles areas.
Frank Garcia, our founder felt blessed that his family had food to eat and that they were taken care of, however he knew he was lucky and that there are many families not as fortunate as his.
Believing Thanksgiving is a special day to give thanks for everything God has given you, Frank decided to host a free dinner for the less fortunate in the parking lot of his restaurant, La Casa Garcia. As the years went on, the number of people being served continued to grow.
This upcoming Thanksgiving will mark the 23rd Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Although the location of the dinner has changed from the parking lot of La Casa Garcia to the Honda Center in order to accommodate the growing number of attendees, the message of the dinner has remained the same: no matter what hardships are going on in your life, you will always have a Thanksgiving dinner waiting for you.
Frank Garcia Biography:
While growing up in Bishop, Texas, Frank learned many meaningful lessons from his father who was born in Mexico and his loving mother, born in Texas. They instilled in him the importance of hard work, being a proud American citizen, and the need to give back to others and be thankful for the daily gifts of life. In 1961, Frank moved to Southern California. He opened the first Red Onions, Tijuana Inn Café, The Catch Restaurant, The White House the Burn Beef Burger an many more as a kitchen manager. Executive chef in Italian, American, and Mexican food. In 1961 he founded La Casa Garcia Restaurant in Anaheim. La Casa Garcia soon became a leading Orange County restaurant through the dedication of Frank, his wife Silvia, and now their children, sons Frank, Jr., Johnny, and daughters Cindy, Veronica, and Silvia.
Those early childhood lessons provided Frank with a sense of community giving and caring for others inspiring him to form the nonprofit organization We Give Thanks, Inc. For nearly two decades, Frank has been serving free Thanksgiving dinners to those in need in the community. His efforts have helped serve more than 200,000 free Thanksgiving meals over the years.
Frank also traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas, to help Hurricane Katrina victims by serving tens of thousands of hot meals to the evacuees. Additionally, this past Thanksgiving Day, over 20,000 people attended the 22nd Annual Thanksgiving Day dinner provided by We Give Thanks, Inc., www.wegivethanksfoundation.org with the event becoming so large that it was held at the Honda Center parking lot in collaboration with the Anaheim Ducks organization.
On an annual basis, Frank’s organization also travels to orphanages in neighboring Tijuana, Mexico, providing much needed food, toys, computers, and school supplies.
In 1996, Frank was honored with a “Points of Light Award” from former President Bill Clinton, and he has been the recipient of numerous other recognitions for years of community service and volunteerism.
In 2001, in memory of his mother, Frank began the annual “We Give Thanks, Inc Women of Vision Awards Dinner” to recognize women who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to community service in their professional careers and through volunteerism. All proceeds from this year’s event benefited the “We Give Thanks, Inc.” scholarship program to assist local students in need.
It is Frank’s life commitment to continue to serve those in need in his community with compassion and to instill the spirit of giving back to others. Of significant importance to him, and the organization that he founded, are the education of our youth and the well-being of our senior citizens.
Thanksgiving Day Committee:
Frank Garcia
Frank Garcia Junior
Ivan Oregel
June Glenn
Kevin Draper
Kent French
Stephanie Hsu
Lorena Maae
Ben Lai
Frank Deptola
Bill Brown
Kelsey Kaehler
Morgan King
Taylor Martini
Kelsey Minner
