Warm Clothes, Good Food, And Fellowship On The Menu This Thanksgiving

For more than 20 years, members of the Blackstone family have traveled to New London to help serve dinner to the hungry, homeless, and other people in need of food, fellowship, and warm clothes on Thanksgiving Day.

"My whole family, this is the only Thanksgiving we know," said the tuxedo-clad Gary Blackstone, who this year served as the maître d' for the feast at the Second Congregational Church on Broad Street in New London. "This is where the people are. We come to the people." 

Blackstone was there with his son, Nate Blackstone, and more than 150 other volunteers, including more than two dozen who walked in off the street Thanksgiving Day, offering to help. Blackstone lives down the street from and is a member of the Calvary Chapel in the Uncasville section of Montville, which coordinated the meal and provided many of the volunteers.

"It's better to serve than be served," said Richard Vichas, of Norwich, a volunteer and Army veteran. "It's not only fun, it's spiritually rewarding."

"We tell people what we need and they take care of it"

This year's offerings included turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a dazzling array of desserts that were lined up on several long tables on one side of the room. Racks of clothes free for the taking were set up on the other side of the huge hall, which seated more than 150 people at a time.

Mike "McTurkey" Ritz, sporting a turkey hat on his head, has been working on the event non-stop for the past six weeks. "It's been pretty much a full-time job," he said. "But a lot of it takes care of itself. We've been doing it for more than 20 years. At Calvary Chapel, we pretty much tell people what we need and they take care of it."

Blackstone, Ritz, and Calvary Chapel Pastor Joe Paskewich said they served about 700 dinners this year.

People in need helping people in need

Dinner guests sat, enjoyed their meal and each other's company, and on the way out were offered pre-packed toiletry bags and clean, new white socks. They were offered a ride home if they needed it, the use of a cell phone if they needed to make a call, and a handshake on the way out. They were also offered food to go. Some people took food to eat later, others took food for shut-ins or others who could not make it to the church.

"That's one of the really neat things," Blackstone said. "People in need helping other people in need."

Food left over after all the guests were gone was packed up and delivered to the New London soup kitchen. Several of the guests, on their way out, asked how they could help next year and were added to a volunteer list. Blackstone said that is typical. Army Vet Richard Vicas, giving out socks and toiletry bags at the door, agreed.

"Happy Thanksgiving," he said to the departing guests.  "Keep the faith, eh? This was fun. Let's do it again next year."

To find out how you can help with events like this, contact the Calvary Chapel in Uncasville, 126 Sharp Hill Road, Uncasville, CT 06382, 860-848-7400.