Question: It’s a tradition for us to provide a needy family with a complete turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. Do you know of an agency to connect us to one?

Answer: Kokua Line contacted a supervisor at the nonprofit organization Helping Hands Hawaii, which, although it does not have a large-scale Thanksgiving dinner program, agreed to help facilitate your donation as a special case.

Now that you’ve connected, you and the charity can work out the logistics together. We hope that your offer to provide a family a holiday feast succeeds, to everyone’s benefit. As you highlight with your generous example, it can be as much a joy to give as it is to receive.

We thought of Helping Hands because although it does not run a major Thanksgiving event, it does have vast experience connecting donors with recipients in meaningful ways, including by administering the annual Adopt a Family program during the Christmas and winter holiday season — which is right around the corner.

Most of the participants in the Adopt a Family program are homeless or low-income individuals or families living in emergency shelters and transitional housing, according to the nonprofit. The program invites them to create wish lists of gifts they would like to receive. Donors choose which family or individual they would like to “adopt,” purchase as many of the wish list items as they like, then drop off the presents at the Community Clearinghouse by Dec. 19.

The gifts are delivered before Christmas, and in some cases the donors and recipients meet. Hundreds of people enjoy a brighter holiday season this way every year. To find out more about how to help this season, go to helpinghandshawaii.org.

As for Thanksgiving, now’s also a prime time to remind Kokua Line readers of the many needs throughout the community, needs that are met thanks to canned food drives for the Hawaii Foodbank and other groups, monetary and food donations to churches and charities preparing traditional Thanksgiving feasts for the needy, and volunteers who help cook and serve the food and clean up afterward.

Perhaps the best known of these community events is the Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner, open to all in need of a hot meal and some fellowship. This year’s event will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. No reservations or admission tickets are required.

Finally, let’s remember that pets also need to eat and that many are suffering.

Last year donations to the Hawaiian Humane Society’s pet-food bank helped nearly 5,000 pets whose owners were homeless or in crisis, said Community Relations Director Jacque Vaughn.

The nonprofit maintains a wish list of needed pet food, treats, toys and other supplies. The list includes specific nourishment sought for puppies and dogs, kittens and cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds; only items on the list are accepted. All nutritional items must be unopened and unexpired. You can see the details at hawaiianhumane.org/Wish-List.html.

Once you are certain your intended donations fit the bill, items can be dropped off at the society’s Admissions Center at 2700 Waialae Ave., any time, day or night, according to the website.

“Keeping families together also includes their pets. Our pet-food bank is an intervention program that helps families who are considering pet relinquishment due to financial hardship,” Vaughn said. “If we can help them through, we can keep that bond from breaking. When it comes to homeless people, sometimes their pet is the only family they have.”

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.