Guiding Hands at Work:Turkey Giveaway Makes Holiday Brighter for Many
By Kevin Rauch
RENOVO- This Thanksgiving, as nearly three dozen families sit down to enjoy their holiday meal, whether everyone at the table knows it or not, their festive dinner was made better and even possible thanks to a Renovo couple who continue to consistently help people in western Clinton County.
Tyrone Mcclain has lived in Renovo for 7 years now after a job brought him to the area. Now on the road often for work, McClain calls the town home where he has established roots along with girlfriend Erin O’Brien.
Tyrone is one of those people that many probably don’t know, despite his constant philanthropy, he’s quiet and humble and often flying below the proverbial radar.
Maybe that’s why when he and Erin do things such as their Thanksgiving turkey giveaway it still catches so many people by surprise, despite the legacy of kindness he has been building upon for years.
Initially Mcclain and a friend operated under their Guiding Hands platform, where they have held events like community picnics, back to school back pack giveaways and prize filled Easter Egg hunts. Now settling down in Renovo, lately the giving back to the community has seen Tyrone and Erin handling the projects on their own.
Over the last two weekends, the couple passed out 35 turkeys for anyone that asked.
“I’m on the road a lot for work, so this year it was really all Erin advertising for the turkeys, taking names and setting everything up for us to drop them off,” Mcclain explained. About a month ago Erin started offering the free turkeys, offering them to all, no questions asked.
If they had any doubts just how powerful their movement has become, that uncertainty was erased this year, just minutes into their first weekend hand out.
“Because we buy so many, we have to work with Wal-Mart so they expect when we will be picking up a load of turkeys,” Mcclain explained. After filling the car with the frozen turkeys the couple decided to stop at a Lock Haven restaurant for lunch before returning to Renovo.
After some small talk with the waitress, she relayed that she moved here from out of state and had fallen on some tough times, when Thanksgiving came up, she explained that she heard of ‘Guiding Hands’ out of Renovo and was planning on getting in touch with them.
“That really got to me, it proved to me that we are making a difference and just filled me with excitement. Honestly, I can’t wait until next year, we need to beat the 35 turkeys that we gave away this year” an appreciative Mcclain explained. He said that he had to actually show the waitress on his phone that she was in fact talking to the right people, as the against the odds conversation continued.
Maybe it took that random act for the couple to realize just how big of an affect that they are having in helping people in times of need, but to so many people on the receiving end of their projects, the appreciation has been appreciated and steadfast, as everyone in the area should give thanks to Tyron and Erin’s efforts for helping to make the community a better place.
