UIA’s First Thanksgiving Drive: A Step Toward Real Community Work

On Sunday, November 23rd, Unity In Arts hosted its first-ever Thanksgiving Food Drive in Montgomery, Alabama — a moment that marked more than just handing out plates. It marked UIA stepping into its purpose in a real, tangible way.

This was the first time UIA had the opportunity, resources, and team presence to do something outside of social media that truly reflected what the brand stands for: unity, service, and showing up for people who need it.

Leading up to the event, there were natural uncertainties. No one knew exactly what to expect — it was the first time, the first attempt, the first step. But the team agreed on one thing: you can’t wait until everything is perfect to serve your community. Sometimes you just step out on faith and do the work.

Representing UIA at the drive were Odyraw, Kaleyah, her fiancé Antonio, and his brother Jesus. The group met up, gathered the food, organized everything, and spent the afternoon moving throughout the city, offering meals to those in need.

Despite coming from different backgrounds and different life challenges, everyone shared a similar perspective that day: we’re blessed, and being in a position to give back is something none of us take for granted.

No cameras. No staged moments. No performative charity. Just real people showing real love.

As Odyraw shared during the recap of the event:

“I’m not a fan of pointing a camera in someone’s face when you’re helping them. I literally hate that. If you’re going to help somebody, it should be out of your heart. I know if I was in that situation, it would be embarrassing for someone to take pictures of me. So I’ve never wanted to do that.”

And the team that showed up made the difference.

Odyraw expressed his appreciation, saying:

“I want to give a big shout-out to Kaleyah, Antonio, and Jesus. I couldn’t have done this without them. Just having them there was a huge help and showed what we’re capable of as a team.”

This first Thanksgiving Drive laid the foundation for what UIA wants to build in the community. Now that the team has gone through the process once, there’s clarity, structure, and excitement for the future.

Next year, the goal is to start earlier, gather more donations, have more volunteers, and bring more of the UIA family out to serve. The vision is simple: make it bigger, make it better, and reach even more people — not for attention, but out of genuine love.

UIA’s first Thanksgiving Drive was a powerful beginning.

And it’s only going up from here.