Across the diocese, the faithful are finding ways to give back this Thanksgiving, volunteering time and donating food to serve communities in need.
At St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, parishioners organized a Drive-by-Thanksgiving. Working with diocesan Catholic Charities Migration Refugee Services, they prepared approximately 125 bags of food for families and distributed them Nov. 14. Ahead of the distribution, volunteers picked up a bag and shopping list from the parish and returned the bags filled with canned and boxed goods to make a Thanksgiving meal.
The Knights of Columbus Mt. Vernon Council and First AME Church of Alexandria welcomed more than 100 residents of the Sacramento Neighborhood Center in Alexandria Nov. 19 for a Thanksgiving meal.
On Thanksgiving day, the Knights also are scheduled to provide around 600 meals for homebound residents of their South Fairfax County area, specifically servicing residents of the Mt. Vernon House, a low income apartment complex; Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church; Woodlawn UMC; clients of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Louis Catholic Church; and low-income families at local Fairfax Elementary Schools.
For those looking to give back, a number of organizations have upcoming food drives.
The Knights of Columbus councils at St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Clare of Assisi are organizing a drive Nov. 18-19 at St. Andrew in Clifton. All food and monetary donations will go to Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project in Manassas. The Knights hope to provide 230 boxed meals and 190 frozen turkeys. Contact Mark Mulholland, [email protected] and 703-867-6010.
A “build a basket” program at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Arlington is collecting nonperishables Nov. 17 and perishables Nov. 18-19 to provide Thanksgiving meal kits Nov. 20. The parish hopes to provide 850 dinners. Contact Sally Diaz-Wells, [email protected].
For the 10th year, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna continues its Thanksgiving dinner drive tradition. Last year, the parish provided 350 Thanksgiving dinners. The dinner baskets will be prepared for families of six and provided to a number of area elementary schools and the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society. The baskets also include a $25 gift card for families to purchase their own turkey and other fresh items. Volunteers are provided a list of recommended items and encouraged to include recipes from their family traditions. Donation drop-off is Nov. 21. Contact Meg Gillespie [email protected].
Catholic Charities Christ House in Alexandria collected and froze more than 100 turkeys. St. Luke School in McLean and Immanuel Lutheran School in Alexandria delivered Thanksgiving meal packages that Christ House distributed.
For those looking to volunteer up to or on Thanksgiving, the Knights of Columbus Arlington Council 2473 organizes its biggest charitable event of the year to feed some 3,000 people turkey dinners through Meals on Wheels, shelters and other facilities. The council is looking for donations and volunteers to start carving turkeys and preparing other items Nov. 19-22. On Thanksgiving Nov. 23, volunteers are needed to pack the meals and drive them to distribution points. Contact myles.mcmorrow @gmail.com or [email protected].
