Former Rays Manager brings his ‘Thanksmas’ meal tradition back to the Tampa Bay area

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — It felt like old times again for former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, watching his family’s famous meatballs and pierogies enjoyed by dozens of guests.

The recipes were handed down from his mother, blending ethnicity and culture, the one a young man remembers growing up in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

On this day, the guests mean everything. They are here, taking part in just one service provided by the Homeless Empowerment Project.

The meal marks the return of one of Maddon’s passions, the “Maddon’s Thanksmas”, a catchy name that fit the time between Thanksgiving and the holidays.

Then there is “Thanksmas” in February.

“These folks need our help not only on holidays but also on any other day of the year,” Maddon said.

Maddon came up with the idea years before he launched his foundation and chose the path to promote his mission.

He was a coach, working from the minor league system to the big-league dugout of the Los Angeles Angels, when Maddon discovered a problem.

“It was born in my time in southern California, riding my bicycle up and down the California coast,” Maddon said, recalling scenes of individuals and even families without homes. “We came here in 2006 and got it rolling. Had it rolling pretty good and then COVID, like a lot of other things, kind of put a drag on it.”

The meal in Clearwater is the foundation’s first since that pre-COVID event and helps Maddon celebrate his 70th birthday.

Guests even got to enjoy a birthday cake, served by the birthday man himself.

Maddon’s “Thanksmas”, well established in the Tampa Bay area for more than a decade, soon included Chicago, when Maddon became the manager of the Chicago Cubs. He serves a meal in southern California, as well as Hazleton.

Four locations that have meaning in Maddon’s baseball and personal life.

Four organizations that promote his beliefs.

The Homeless Empowerment Project, known as HEP to guests and staff, has achieved a success rate of more than 80% of clients leaving the program, returning to homes, or simply just getting life back on track.

“When you come out here and meet the people, it’s very gratifying. More than anything, you know you’re doing the right thing,” Maddon said. “These folks, for different reasons are here.  But looking at this particular (HEP) project, their success rate at getting people back out on their own, back in their own homes is pretty outstanding.”

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