PORTSMOUTH — Some people headed into the Rivers Casino on Saturday morning to risk their money at the poker and blackjack tables.
But others were there for a different reason — to pick up a free turkey and fixings for the holidays.
City Councilman Vernon L. Tillage Jr. organized the giveaway, which handed out 500 turkeys — along with macaroni and cheese, peas, stuffing and cornbread mix — to hundreds of people.
It was designed, he said, to help the hard-pressed — such as those reeling from the recent government shutdown, dealing with breast cancer or other financial stresses.
Kim Jones, a volunteer at a turkey giveaway event at the Rivers Casino Portsmouth, hands out a turkey to Keirra Carter, 36, of Portsmouth, who was picking it up for members of her church.
“It’s a great help,” said Beverly Moore, 77, of Portsmouth, as she and husband Calvin, 76, left with a turkey and sides. “We would have found a way, but I’ve been looking at the prices.”
The frozen 15-pound bird she received might have cost as much as $28 at the grocery store, she said.
“That’s a big turkey,” Calvin chimed in.
Debra Wisher, 73, of Portsmouth, was similarly grateful for the assistance.
“I’m widowed and retired — on a fixed budget,” she said. “I’m thankful for all the help that I get … My budget is limited. So food is not a high priority — I have illnesses that I need medication for.”
One Portsmouth couple, Patrick and Kierra Carter came to pick up two turkeys and sides — but not for themselves since “we already have what we need,” Kierra said.
They were collecting them for two families at their church, New Light Baptist in Chesapeake.
“Around this time, a lot of people are trying so hard,” said Patrick Carter, 38. “We see the need. People don’t say anything, but we know there’s families that are really, really in need. So we wanted to be like an Operation Blessing … We came to bless somebody else.”
Tillage said he coordinated the event in partnership with the Rivers Casino — which granted space for the event and footed the $7,500 food bill.
The food purchases, Tillage said, were coordinated through the Food Bank of Southeast Virginia and Eastern Shore.
A member of the track team at Churchland High School, Ohiserone Ogbeta, 15, puts a turkey in the car for Donna Shepherd, 63, of Portsmouth. At left are two of Shepherd’s grandchildren, ages 8 and 7.
Other people’s donations covered the costs of additional bags for people hit hard by the shutdown.
Tillage noted that no money was passed through him, and “it was done strictly through the Food Bank.”
“I just want to be very clear with that,” he said.
Everyone getting a turkey had to be preregistered. But Tillage said he tried to target people affected by the 43-day government shutdown, which ended late Wednesday.
“I’ve had so many families over the last two weeks call to say they were out of a paycheck or whatever,” he said.
Ohiserone Ogbeta, 15, a member of Churchland High School’s track team, hugs Donna Shepherd’s grandson after carrying a turkey to the family’s car at the Rivers Casino Portsmouth on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.
One lady, Tillage said, was near tears, telling him how much she appreciated the help. Though the woman doesn’t qualify for food stamps, he said, she also doesn’t make enough “to get ahead.”
“She’s right in that window,” Tillage said. “She said, ‘People don’t always remember people like that.’”
Virginia’s Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott, a Portsmouth Democrat, said the event shows the city’s residents looking out for each other.
“People are always trying to say what we don’t do,” Scott said of the routine knocks on Portsmouth. “This is what we do — and this is what we do well. We support the community.”
LaBarbara Owens, left, Betty Grandison and Melissa Sletten work the line bagging side food items at a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway at Rivers Casino Portsmouth on Nov. 15, 2025.
More than 60 people volunteered at the event. That included about a dozen members of the Churchland High School track team, who helped transport turkeys to people’s cars.
“I like people’s reactions,” said Churchland track team member John Hicks-Wilson, 17. “Seeing them happy makes me happy.”
“It’s nice to give back when you’re able to give back,” added fellow team member Demiah Stephens, 18. “Because you never know when you can be in the predicament yourself.”
As Melissa Brown, 41, walked out with her turkey, she said it’s been a stressful few weeks. But she’s having her seven children and two grandkids over for Thanksgiving, and the assistance was meaningful.
“It’s gonna help feed my family,” Brown said.
Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com
