Charity, for a nonprofit group organizing its annual
complimentary Thanksgiving meal at Sacred Heart School, comes in
many forms.
But the people, according to organizers, the perpetual flocking
of volunteers who sacrifice the holiday, drive its success.
Charity, for a nonprofit group organizing its annual complimentary Thanksgiving meal at Sacred Heart School, comes in many forms.
But the people, according to organizers, the perpetual flocking of volunteers who sacrifice the holiday, drive its success.
The Marley Holte’s Community Assistance Program is currently seeking residents to work the Nov. 27 dinner, along with food, money donations and drivers for its 20th annual event.
“We need people to help and people to eat,” said Marley Holte, the San Juan Bautista resident who founded the dinners. “The whole thing is based on being involved in the community.”
Holte and a core of others have organized the meals – at Thanksgiving and Christmas each year – to help feed a growing population of poverty-stricken residents, along with anyone else who wants to join the celebration.
Holte’s group needs workers to prepare the turkey the night before the holiday, work the kitchen throughout Thanksgiving, serve dinners, clean up and deliver food to people who can’t attend. Most people usually work about two- to three-hour shifts, Holte said.
During the past couple years, couples and entire families have even made a habit of showing up to help, he said.
“It’s become a big thing for families,” Holte said. “I was talking to a husband and wife couple over the weekend, and they want to bring their children.”
The organization, which includes a board of directors made up of 13 other residents, obtained official nonprofit status this year and has also been involved in the pursuit to open a homeless shelter in Hollister.
“We know we’ve got people living under bridges and under trees and things,” Holte said. “We know they’re out there, I’ve seen some of them.”
While the number of volunteers for the dinners has steadily grown throughout the years, attendance for the meals has recently stabilized; the visitor count actually dropped from an estimated 450 in 2001 to about 420 last year.
Four other agencies have collaborated with Holte’s group on the dinner and food distribution. They include Community Pantry, Fishes and Loaves, Jovenes de Antano and the Salvation Army.
For more information on volunteering or donating, call Holte at 637-5888 or 623-4313.
