A whole flock of fresh turkeys found their way to Upward Bound House after Thanksgiving thanks to La Rocco's Pizza's Paul LaRocco and City Council candidate Göran Eriksson.

La Rocco had leftover turkeys from a feed the hungry event and wasn't sure where to send them until Eriksson suggested the short-term residential facility on Washington Boulevard that caters to homeless children and their families.

"Culver City reminds me of my old neighborhood in New York," LaRocco said. "It's like family. Everyone helps everyone. I'm glad we could get the turkeys to people who can use them."

Eriksson said Upward Bound House was the perfect organization to receive the donation of the eight 14-pound turkeys.

"The residents of Upward Bound House are all working hard to get back on their feet and get off the streets," he said. "Not everyone realizes that we have homeless children here in Culver City, and it's an issue we need to address. I want to see our city spend more time focusing on ways to create affordable housing and workforce housing so that we can address this critical need."

"We are really happy with this donation," said Program Director Karen Acfalle. "We prepare hot meals for all of our families every day, so they will definitely be excited."

Upward Bound House purchased the Sun Bay Motel, located in Culver City, and converted the motel into an emergency shelter for families with minor children. Family Shelter provides short-term housing for families in crisis. In addition to secure, safe accommodations for each family, the program features intensive wrap-around case management, counseling, a food program and other stabilization services.

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For more information about Upward Bound House, please visit http://www.upwardboundhouse.org.

Caption: Upward Bound House Program Director Karen Acfalle and City Council candidate Göran Eriksson show of some of the turkeys donated to Upward Bound House.