EDGEHILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — While serving his probation, a teenager in Edgehill decided he wanted his neighbors to have Thanksgiving dinner on their tables.
"I feel like I just need to give back to the community," Xavier said.
16-year-old Xavier came up with the idea to do a turkey drive after linking up with Youth Advocate Programs or YAP. Xavier was paired with an advocate after he was arrested for burglary.
On Sunday, Xavier's advocate helped the teen organize a turkey drive at Progressive Missionary Baptist Church. YAP reached out to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for assistance. Vanderbilt and their employees bought the majority of the food.
"What I like about what Xavier has done is that he's demonstrated what you can do when you think of others," said Kristy Sinkfield of VUMC.
Sinkfield recruited employee resource groups to pick-up the dinners and distribute them.
"[Xavier] brought us all together. He did that... and that's leadership. He's demonstrating what it means to be a young leader and I see great things for Xavier going forward," Sinkfield said.
After his difficult year, Xavier explained it was uplifting to see this event be such a success.
"It wasn't that good of a year and at the end I did all of this and made this happen so I'm happy," he said.
Youth Advocate Programs serves Nashville youth on probation from the Davidson County Juvenile Court. It is seeking to hire more advocates to keep up with referrals from the court. To apply for the Youth Advocate Programs advocate role, click here.
