Service Learning Needs YOUR Help Sponsoring Families for Thanksgiving

gospel.com

Thanksgiving is a celebration in which family and friends gather around a table decorated with food giving thanks for life, love and each other. Some families celebrate by eating turkey, while others eat chicken or some other tasty meat. Traditionally, the table is accessorized with mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, pumpkin pie and so on.

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However, there are many families who are not fortunate to celebrate Thanksgiving this way. Given the economy and growing number of unemployed, the Thanksgiving meal may not be affordable. MaDonna Thelen, the director of service learning, said Dominican will be sponsoring 30 Thanksgiving families this year. However, due to the economic crunch that has many under a tighter budget than usual, Thelen is worried that some of the families will go without a sponsor this Thanksgiving holiday.

But what does it take to sponsor a family? According to Thelen, each participating family needs a box of canned or boxed food. Such foods may include stuffing mix, boxed mashed potatoes, canned fruits or vegetables, gravy and so on. In addition to these items, a gift certificate to Jewel is also needed to allow the sponsored family to buy fresh items like a turkey, milk, fresh vegetables, etc. Thelen encourages a minimum Jewel gift certificate of $25 but anything beyond that would be generously accepted.

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Thelen said the average Thanksgiving family costs $75 dollars to sponsor. Can't afford it? Well, encourage some friends to all pitch in so that a family will have food for the holiday. Contact Thelen or service learning to find out how you (and your friends) can become a Thanksgiving family sponsor. All donations are due Monday, Nov. 24.

Together, the Dominican community will make a difference.