Freedom High football coach Daryl Overton, partners serving up hundreds of Thanksgiving meals
For Freedom High School football coach Daryl Overton, giving back to his community is about far more than Xs and Os. And that’s never more evident than in the lead-up to Thanksgiving.
On Tuesday night, Overton and a cadre of community leaders will serve up hundreds of hot meals ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I am a part of this community, and I love helping people in the city in which I live and grew up,” Overton told InsideNoVa.
This year is particularly busy for the coach, as his undefeated Eagles have advanced to the regional finals, to be held two days after Thanksgiving.
Serving the community is a passion of Overton’s, particularly in the areas of youth sports and community events for the less fortunate.
A resident of Woodbridge for more than 30 years, Overton started his annual Thanksgiving dinner giveaway in 2016. He has collaborated with his football team, family, friends, local businesses, Freedom High School and other community organizations to ensure the event’s prosperity.
“My support system is amazing, and we look forward to feeding our community each and every year,” he said.
In 2016 and 2017, former NFL player and Freedom-Woodbridge alumnus Howard Jones and his HOJO Foundation assisted Overton with the purchase and distribution of 300 turkeys.
Jones’ foundation also brought former NFL players and college players to read to students at Swan Creek and Belmont elementary schools.
“We were blessed by the principals at these schools, because they coordinated days for us to interact with the students,” Overton said.
Wawa and Papa John’s, located in Daniel Stuart Square in Woodbridge, joined in on the effort in 2017, providing refreshments for those who attend the event.
In 2018, Karen Bettis-Davis, the founder of Them Embassy Church in Fredericksburg, came on board to help with logistics and gathering goods.
Woodbridge music group TipToe Entertainment and Covenant House, a nonprofit outreach program based in Northern Virginia, started lending support in 2018, as well.
Speaking to InsideNoVa, Overton gave a special shout-out to Lauren Puryear of Covenant House and Bettis-Davis “for continuing to support the annual event by securing sponsorships and giving me the extra manpower.”
The group added school supplies to the giveaway in 2019.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Overton partnered with a local church that provided three truckloads of food. While the event did not have a large turnout – not unexpectedly because of the pandemic – the majority of food was donated to a homeless shelter in Woodbridge.
The Thanksgiving drive returned in full force in 2021, distributing 150 backpacks full of school supplies and serving 250 full dinners to the Prince William community.
This year, Acclaim Home Services provided 50 turkeys, and Freedom High School, in coordination with Overton, will provide over 250 dinners to the Freedom family, residents along the U.S. 1 corridor and others in need in the county.
When Bettis-Davis’ church partnered with Overton, the event mostly just provided turkeys. Since she joined, the servings have become full-blown meals.
Covenant House’s Puryear, who also is founder of For the Love of Others Inc., has established new sponsors for the event.
“She is terrific; matter of fact, she is dynamite,” Bettis-Davis said.
Bettis-Davis had similar high praise for Overton.
“I totally credit Daryl for being conscious and concerned about his community members,” she said.
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