Kids gobbling for a good cause

Kicking off Thanksgiving season students at Stepping Stone School practiced their turkey calls with a wild turkey.

Tuesday morning a group of five year-olds learned about Beaufort a turkey from the Capitol Zoo. 

The children wore turkey hats and gathered around Beaufort’s cage to serenade him. Then each child walked up to his cage and yelled out turkey calls. Some kids were able to get Beaufort to gobble in response making them laugh and cheer. 

Mike Haggerty, the director of ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot said the event is always fun to watch and it encourages people to register for the five mile run.

"Bringing it out to the public's attention that Thanksgiving is around the corner and here we come another year," said Haggerty. 

Haggerty enjoys watching the turkey react to the children’s turkey calls he said this year Beaufort had a lot of personality.

The turkey trot will be held on Thanksgiving Day at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Aside from the five mile run the event includes a one-mile walk for Stepping Stone Kids K.

Since the event began in 1991 ThunderCloud has raised more than $3.1 million for Caritas, a non-profit supporting working poor and homeless people in Austin. 

More than 20,000 people attend and Haggerty hopes they’ll have more this year.

For more information or to sign up, visit http://thundercloud.com