Prank turned charity event continues to help out families in need on Thanksgiving

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Austin Hermsen really just wanted to go on vacation with his wife. And he did, but not after receiving almost 100 calls to ask for the turkeys he had promised the community on Craigslist. The prank by his friends eventually turned into something bigger, creating "Operation Give Birds" giving families in need a chance to enjoy a turkey on Thanksgiving.

"There are really families out there who need a turkey," Hermsen said. " They thought it was funny to post my number online but we saw that there was a need."

Together with his good friend Nick Dusil and others, they handed out almost 100 meals to Corridor families last year, no questions asked. This year however they wanted to go bigger and try to serve even more families, turning their prank into a charity effort helping many in a time when help is needed most. Without any fundraising experience, the friends enlisted companies to help and most importantly their own effort to try and help as many people as possible.

"There is more need as we have more time and get more organized we understand there is more need in the community and we want to help out everyone if possible and we want to raise as many funds as we can to get meals to everybody," Dusil said.

If you are interested in helping out with a donation or need to register to receive a turkey you can click here.

You can also email them at operationgivebirds@gmail.com or donate money on Paypal.