​The Gloucester County Police Academy Basic Class #59 captured the Thanksgiving spirit on Tuesday, Nov. 2, when Academy Recruit Alexis Difilippo presented American Legion Post 298 Commander David Zweigenbaum (left) and Project Thanksgiving founder Alex Kaganzev (right) with a $715 donation to support a holiday feast for area veterans. For the last few weeks, 23 academy recruits have been collecting monetary donations to assist with Project Thanksgiving’s 13th annual turkey drive. A Thanksgiving dinner and entertainment for veterans and their families is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 26.

Established in 1988, the Gloucester County Police Academy is located on the Rowan College of South Jersey campus in Deptford and conducts basic police training, SLEO I and II training, as well as many in-service training courses.

Project Thanksgiving is a non-profit organization that collects frozen turkeys and monetary donations for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter, American Legion, Food Bank of South Jersey, and Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.​