South Seattle's Turkey Bowl Celebrates Its 10th Annual Year of Football and Community Service in the South End

Like many of us who grew up in Seattle, Cortez Charles was a fixture in the city's Parks and Recreation facilities in his youth. Now, he's the founder of the Fatherhood Accountability Movement (F.A.M.), a City of Seattle Parks and Recreation department employee, and the driving force behind the 10th annual Turkey Bowl — a community-wide week of service that caps with youth and adult football games on Thanksgiving.

"I literally used to get kicked out of the community center all the time," he reflected, laughingly, on his younger days attending Rainier Community Center. "There's no way in my wildest dreams that I would have thought I'd end up working for Seattle Parks and Recreation, let alone running the Late-Night Programs in the South End."

Charles served as a recreation specialist for South Seattle's Late-Night Programs, which support the city's teenagers by providing a safe and productive environment on Fridays and Saturdays from evening until midnight. This year, after five years as a rec specialist, he stepped into the position of Seattle Parks and Rec Late-Night youth leadership community coordinator, through which he serves as a thought partner for all of the city's Late-Night programming.

It's in this role, as a representative of Parks and Rec, that Charles proudly presents the South End's 10th Annual Turkey Bowl, in partnership with the F.A.M. This weeklong event seeks to empower the community, inspire leadership and a commitment to service in participating youth, and offer support to community members in need. With flag football games, dinners, resource fairs, and food giveaways, the Turkey Bowl has grown into a highly anticipated event offering fellowship through various timeless cultural traditions.

While the South End's Turkey Bowl has been around for a decade, the tradition itself was first brought to Seattle more than half a century ago by elders in Charles' family. It has been carried on through Charles himself, his partners at F.A.M., his wife De'Andra Charles — who he credits for her immense work behind the scenes, informed by her dedication to working with mothers and families in the community — and various community leaders and organizations who understand the vital need for connection and the transformative power of service. And with their collective dedication, the tradition has endured.

"Every year, I'll be like, 'All right, this is the last one,'" he joked, referring to the immense effort required to pull off the collaborative events. "God bless my wife and my kids. This is 10 years for us. Ten years of sacrifice and dedication from everybody who contributes, in any way, shape, or form. I respect the commitment from everybody, young and old."

Charles says the passion of his collaborators and the positive energy generated by the event's attendees are both humbling and rejuvenating, leading him to continue carrying on the work. He emphasizes that despite the fanfare of football games and the event's roots in the South End, the true spirit of the Turkey Bowl is uplifting the value of service for the community at large.

"Football is a fun component, but the most important component is the service. And that service has no geographical barrier. We are going to go wherever there is a need, and I truly believe and feel that every city, every state, every community, deserves to have its own Turkey Bowl."

Now, as the South End's Turkey Bowl has reached its decennial anniversary, it appears as though Charles' vision may be in the beginning stages of coming to fruition. After being partners in the South End's Turkey Bowl for the past three years, the football coaching staff at Renton High School moved to Tukwila and is now doing their own Turkey Bowl week, hosted by the Foster High School Football program. This marks the first year that another city in Washington State has introduced a full Turkey Bowl week, and Charles hopes it will be the first of many.

This week, Charles and his partners, including Seattle Parks and Rec, Community Passageways, Byrd Barr, the YMCA's Alive & Free program, SE Network SafetyNet, and more, have given out over 100 turkeys, 400 meals, and 250 turkey sandwiches from Jimmy John's. On Wednesday evening, they hosted the Youth Flag Football game at Brighton Playfield and a community dinner at Rainier Beach Community Center. On Thanksgiving Day, the adult flag football tournament kicks off at 10 a.m. at Brighton Playfield.