CLEVELAND — Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is helping some local kids prep for Thanksgiving.
Allen hosted his ninth annual Meals + Math Thanksgiving event Nov. 20, welcoming 25 kids from the Breakthrough Schools‘ Willard and Woodland Hills campuses to the Giant Eagle on W 117th St. in Cleveland.
Allen and a series of volunteers helped each child shop for their Thanksgiving spreads with the help of a $200 Giant Eagle gift card to cover the items, a calculator to help with their math and a sample grocery list. Allen joked that while the grocery list doesn’t have to be followed exactly, it was necessary to avoid some carts ending up with all desserts and sweets.
“Some of these kids, they’d have 12 cases of soda,” Allen said, laughing. “They’re going straight to the chips and cookies aisle. That’s why we give them the list to try to dial them back in, but I’m just smiling with them.”
After a short presentation with the kids, Allen walked the aisles, talking with the kids and helping them pick out the right turkey and sides — Allen’s top side is mac & cheese, something that was agreed upon with a few of the kids.
Allen eventually joined the kids to help with their budgets at the cash register.
Allen has thrown this event since his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets and brought it to Cleveland after being traded to the Cavs.
“It’s important because we’ve all been in their shoes. We all know,” Allen said. “These kids deserve it as much as anybody else.”
When Allen was a kid, his mom used to make him volunteer at food drives. Allen didn’t understand the value of such community events as a child, but he does now.
“When I was younger, it’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s such a chore,'” Allen said. “But now looking back, understanding the importance of it, I’m glad that she did.”