(EXPERIENCE MAGAZINE) – Los Angeles – Dancing With the Star’s (DWTS) professional dancer Keo Motsepe will be in charge of much more than dinner this Thanksgiving. The pro dancer is announcing the first ever “Thank the Angels” gifting service which will see Keo and his celebrity friends assemble gift bags filled with blankets, clothes, toys and of course Thanksgiving food, to give out to the homeless communities and shelter homes in Los Angeles.
“Thank the Angels” will be assembling the Thanksgiving Day gift bags on Wednesday November 22ndin L.A and then doing drop offs all morning on Thanksgiving Day.
Driven by a desire to give back and help those less fortunate the TV star created “Thank the Angels” and reached out to his network of celebrity friends and brands to help assemble Thanksgiving gift bags.
Already onboard to support the venture is Audi Beverly Hills who will be supplying 200 bottles of water and tote bags to the cause and Enterprise car rental who is providing transportation to help “Thank the Angels” accomplish their Thanksgiving drop-offs mission. Lucky Strike, the national entertainment bowling alley, will also be lending their Hollywood location venue for the celebrities and volunteers to create these gift bags the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Keo’s DWTS partner and “Shark Tank” star, Barbara Corcoran, also immediately came onboard to support the philanthropic cause saying “Thanksgiving is not only the time to be thankful for our friends and family, but to think of others less fortunate and I think this is a truly wonderful cause and way to support that.”
Sasha Pieterse, DWTS celebrity contestant and Pretty Little Liar star, also joined the initiative. “We’ve been given so many opportunities and things to be grateful for, I think it’s time to give back and share these blessings.”
Talking about his inspiration for the endeavor, Keo recalls a time when he knew he had to do more “It was Thanksgiving and I bought food and drove around trying to find someone to give it to and then behind a major department store I saw a woman with a small child in the car park sitting against the wall. I went over and offered her the food and she just started crying— that’s a feeling you never forget. At that moment I just knew I wanted to do more.”
Keo is also in talks with his other celebrity friends to bring them onboard to help with packing up gift bags and the Thanksgiving Day drop offs. “Thank the Angels” plans to drop off more than 200 gift bags to the homeless on the streets of LA and at the local missions and homeless shelters. He also expects several more brands to come onboard and partner with him, providing products such as clothing and food for the gift bags.
The 8-year ballroom champion first gained recognition after joining the Burn the Floor tour in which he met many of his current co-stars such as Derek Hough and Sharna Burgess. Keo joined Dancing with The Stars in 2011 and as the first African-American Dancer to join the show he became immediately known to viewers. On DWTS Keo has shared the stage with recording artist Chaka Khan, Full House star Jodie Sweetin, Spanish-American actress Charo and Shark Tank judge Barbara Corcoran.
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