Caryn Fiorina, left, gives volunteer Jessica Cassirer a thank-you hug during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway Tuesday at the Luisa Senior Center. The family of the late Judge Tom Fiorina is carrying on a holiday tradition by providing meal kits to 疯客直播 Fe seniors and families.
Chanet Fiorina-Trujillo, left, gets some help from Jett Fiorina-Trujillo, 3, while putting together a meal kit during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway Tuesday at the Luisa Senior Center. The family of the late Judge Tom Fiorina 鈥 known for excusing parking tickets in exchange for Thanksgiving food donations 鈥斅爄s carrying on the tradition by providing 35 holiday meal kits to 疯客直播 Fe seniors.
Mona Baca with the city of 疯客直播 Fe Senior Services Division shares a moment with client Bella Campos during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway at the Luisa Senior Center on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.
Roberta Armijo with the city of 疯客直播 Fe Senior Services Division shares a hug with client Rosario Torres during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway at the Luisa Senior Center on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.聽
Caryn Fiorina, left, gives volunteer Jessica Cassirer a thank-you hug during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway Tuesday at the Luisa Senior Center. The family of the late Judge Tom Fiorina is carrying on a holiday tradition by providing meal kits to 疯客直播 Fe seniors and families.
Thanksgiving was a special time of year for longtime 疯客直播 Fe Municipal Judge Tom Fiorina, and two years after his death, his family is keeping his legacy alive.
Every Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Fiorina would forgive stress-inducing parking tickets in exchange for turkey and other holiday food donations, which he and his family would distribute to those in need.
Following his death in 2022, his widow, Caryn Fiorina, took over the food drive, and, with the help of their daughter Chanet Fiorina-Trujillo and a team of volunteers, the project fed 42 families last year 鈥 nearly double the goal of 25.
This year, organized as a new nonprofit called Judge Fiorina鈥檚 Thanksgiving in 疯客直播 Fe, they provided 75 families and seniors with the essentials of a Thanksgiving meal 鈥 a box containing a turkey, dressing, vegetables, potatoes, rolls and a pie.
鈥淚t made perfect sense for us to put this together and do this for the community of 疯客直播 Fe 鈥 just because of my dad鈥檚 legacy,鈥 Fiorina-Trujillo said in an interview. 鈥淲e want to keep it going.鈥
Chanet Fiorina-Trujillo, left, gets some help from Jett Fiorina-Trujillo, 3, while putting together a meal kit during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway Tuesday at the Luisa Senior Center. The family of the late Judge Tom Fiorina 鈥 known for excusing parking tickets in exchange for Thanksgiving food donations 鈥斅爄s carrying on the tradition by providing 35 holiday meal kits to 疯客直播 Fe seniors.
To identify families who could use the help this Thanksgiving, Caryn Fiorina turned to the city of 疯客直播 Fe and the local Communities in Schools of New Mexico program, a nonprofit that provides wraparound academic, attendance and well-being support for students and their families. The city鈥檚 senior services officials provided names of senior citizens, and student success coordinators at C茅sar Ch谩vez and Sweeney elementary schools identified families.
On Sunday, Caryn Fiorina and her crew of volunteers handed out 20 Thanksgiving starter kits to families from C茅sar Ch谩vez Elementary School, plus 20 more to families from Sweeney Elementary School.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing,鈥 said Flor Lujan, student success coordinator at C茅sar Ch谩vez who worked with the Fiorina crew. 鈥淭his is the second year she鈥檚 doing it, and we鈥檙e really grateful for that.鈥
Mona Baca with the city of 疯客直播 Fe Senior Services Division shares a moment with client Bella Campos during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway at the Luisa Senior Center on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.
A group of 35 seniors received their Thanksgiving essentials from the Fiorina family and supporters on Tuesday.
Though he鈥檚 now one of the Fiorina family鈥檚 turkey-toting volunteers, Juan Blea once had to face the judge as a ticketed teenager.
Blea said Tom Fiorina was 鈥減retty instrumental鈥 in his development, both in helping him correct his behavior and in accepting a food donation over dollars.
Experiences like Blea鈥檚 weren鈥檛 unusual. Growing up, Fiorina-Trujillo said she couldn鈥檛 go anywhere in 疯客直播 Fe without hearing good things about her dad 鈥 often from those who appeared before him as defendants.
Roberta Armijo with the city of 疯客直播 Fe Senior Services Division shares a hug with client Rosario Torres during a Thanksgiving meal giveaway at the Luisa Senior Center on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.聽
鈥淣ever once did anybody ever say, 鈥極h, your dad really threw the book at me,鈥 鈥 she recalled. 鈥淭hey were like, 鈥榊our dad helped me in this way and in that way.鈥 Those stories just always warm my heart.鈥
Blea said he joined this year鈥檚 effort to maintain Fiorina鈥檚 generous spirit.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what this represents to me, is keeping up a legacy and keeping alive a time when 疯客直播 Feans cared about 疯客直播 Feans,鈥 he said.
