It’s not Thanksgiving dinner without the quintessential roasted turkey on the dining table and without friends and family to celebrate the holiday with. Thus, when actor Jon Voight saw a woman buying a lot of turkeys at a grocery store he did not hesitate and paid for them himself.
The Academy-winning actor met 28-year-old Sydney Gholston at a Kentucky Walmart in November 2016 during a break from filming in town. He was at the store to pick up a few items and was waiting in line for his turn to pay at the cashier when he saw the amount of turkey she had. Curios, Voight subtly asked about her family.
“I was helping the lady scan the turkeys and the man behind me said, ‘You must have a big family. That’s an awful lot of turkeys,’” Gholston recalled and she told Voight that she works at the Home of the Innocents in Louisville.
The Home of the Innocents is a nonprofit shelter pediatric convalescent center that helps children and teens with a variety of birth defects and medical problems. It also supports pregnant teenagers, victims of domestic abuse or neglect, and emotionally disturbed teenagers.
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Gholston recalled how Voight sounded sincere in his interest to learn more about her work and about the shelter. She works as the director of food and nutritional services. Gholston revealed that he joked around her at first when she told him that he looked like Angelina Jolie’s father.
Then he saw the six turkeys she had in her cart, which weighed 12 to 14 pounds each, and offered to pay for all of them.
“I thanked him and we took a picture. Very nice guy. He was very interested in what we did at the home. He said that was wonderful,” Gholston told ABC News.
Home of the Innocents shared the photo of Gholston and Voight on Facebook and wrote, “Jon generously paid for the turkeys to feed our kids next week!” they wrote. “We are so thankful for his generosity!” Gholston said the turkeys were more than enough to feed 70 children at the shelter for Thanksgiving.
“I give to Home of the Innocents because I love giving back to the k… ids.” – Volunteer You can give back in a big way this year! Giving Tuesday is just four hours away. Donate to the Home and make an impact on the lives of children and families we serve.
Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for what we have. It is also about sharing our blessings in the hope of putting a smile and food on the table for those who cannot afford to spend for Thanksgiving. But we must remember to always thank God for all the help and blessings he provides us not just on Thanksgiving but every day.
Children of Home of the Innocents
Home of the Innocents provides all the children and families they serve the opportunity to grow and open doors to their futures.