Every year on Thanksgiving morning, students from Fort Hamilton High School join other community members to deliver meals to homebound seniors. This year was no exception; despite the rain, students went around the neighborhood delivering warm meals and some holiday cheer.
At 8:00 a.m. volunteers met at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church and packaged food bags with both hot and cold meals consisting of turkey, mashed potatoes, and other Thanksgiving staples. After creating the bags, students gathered in groups, collected index cards with the addresses of the seniors, and embarked on their deliveries.
Lorraine Topp Tuccillo, a Fort Hamilton alumna from the class of 1968, began this initiative with her husband and friends. When they first started, they cooked meals from their own kitchen and got neighborhood kids to distribute the meals. As the number of elder recipients increased, however, they moved into the church basement in order to cater to more senior citizens.
“[Meals on Wheels is] a great way to start Thanksgiving Day, while being thankful for all of the blessings that we have and sharing them,” she said.
Through the rain, students were reminded of why they were out there. The seniors they were visiting were likely not going to see anyone else that Thanksgiving. The delivery of the meals would be the only way that they can partake in Thanksgiving festivities.
“I think that Meals on Wheels is important because on Thanksgiving, it is meant to be celebrated with others,” said senior Jason Jiang, who participated in the event. “However, some people may not have anyone by their side, so this gesture of us taking time out of our day to deliver meals may mean much more to those individuals.”
Waking up early and trekking in the rain on Thanksgiving morning may, at first, sound like a chore, but to the volunteers the smile on the elders’ faces made it all worth it.
“It’s important because when we grow old we would want that presence for us,” said senior Habiba Hussein.
