On Nov. 17, the Greer Dawson Wilson Student Leadership Program hosted a community Thanksgiving dinner for families in the Hampton area.
They called local churches, shelters, and social services to reach out and see who they could get involved. Members met each family upon entrance and served the families a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Ham, turkey, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, greens and corn bread were some of the dishes served.
SLP started hosting this community dinner a few years ago when one of the co-facilitators, Andrew Williams, came up with the idea.
Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and give thanks for the things we have in the world. Not everyone is as fortunate to have what others do.
At Hampton, these things do not go unnoticed. For this reason, SLP continues to give back to the community.
There were about five members in the program when it first started, and now it’s growing. Many of the preparations have stayed the same throughout the years and are executed smoothly. However, event coordinators plan to make the project even greater in the future.
Many of the families attending came from Sixth Mount Zion Baptist church.
“Deacon Colton Ashby was contacted and he told the church about the event,” said member Terry Keys.
Hampton has collaborated with Sixth Mount Zion on many occasion, for many different purposes. One way in which HU helps out the church is Wednesday night tutoring with the children, but it doesn’t stop there.
While there were some familiar faces at this year’s community dinner, there were new faces as well. “This was our first time at this dinner. The food was awesome! I didn’t know we could bring more people, and I would have brought more with me,” Sixth Mount Zion member Michelle Herman said.
The ultimate goal is to let those who are less fortunate know that they are not alone and get more community members involved over time. SLP plans to spread the word and continue the growth of this program.
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