BELLE GLADE — Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes raised his voice to be heard over the clamor and thump of a high school band Tuesday as boys and girls handed out components of 200 Thanksgiving dinners, all on the grounds of what was once his middle school.

With the kind of year the Steelers are having, one of struggle and injuries, Holmes might well have declined to fly 2,400 miles roundtrip on his only off day to spend a few hours in his hometown.

But he knows this town has its own struggles. That is why he and fellow Glades Central graduate Fred Taylor, a running back for New England, have bought dinner for 200 families the last two years through the Boys & Girls Club, which they attended as youths here.

"This is close to my heart," Holmes said. "You want to show once you've been successful, you don't have to shy away from your roots."

If anything, Holmes has come to find comfort here. He and Taylor both have had professional disappointments this year. Holmes has caught just one touchdown pass in a season in which the Steelers are 6-4 and wondering whether they will even make the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl. Taylor had to miss the annual event because he is rehabilitating from a season-ending right ankle injury.

But Tuesday was nothing but upbeat.

The Glades Central band dipped and swayed and belted out tunes as Holmes posed for pictures and signed autographs for more than an hour. No velvet ropes. Anyone from the area could shake his hand and talk football outside the Boys & Girls Club of Belle Glade, which was once the cafeteria of Lakeshore Middle School.

The lucky pre-selected families went home with everything from a fresh turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce to a pumpkin pie.

"There are a lot of people who can't afford to have Thanksgiving and it's great that he's doing this," said one of the recipients, Belle Glade's Sarah Pittman, whose two grandchildren attend the Boys & Girls Club.

The day put Holmes in a mood to be optimistic about his team, which hopes to have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger available to face Baltimore on Sunday night. He suffered concussion-like symptoms after taking a huge hit this weekend at Kansas City.

"I'm pretty sure it shook him up a little bit, but I know he's going to be ready to play," Holmes said.

Someone asked Holmes, who played alongside receiver/kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. at Ohio State, if he has followed Ginn's up-and-down career with the Miami Dolphins. Holmes, too, was a first-round draft pick, taken 25th overall in 2006, who had some trouble as an NFL receiver and kick returner before establishing himself as a star in 2007.

Holmes said he would welcome the opportunity to "help out a fellow Buckeye," but feels that Ginn is a rare person in that he is not rattled by outside expectations.

"He's a strong-minded guy and he's smart enough to know how to control himself," Holmes said.

At worst, they can have that conversation in person Jan. 3, when Pittsburgh plays its regular-season finale against the Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium. It will be the first time Holmes plays in a professional game in South Florida, and the teams could be fighting for a wild-card berth.

After enjoying just four warm hours Tuesday in South Florida, Holmes is looking forward to the return trip.

"I'm excited about that," he said.