Thanksgiving a Success: St Vincent De Paul

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. - Over 700 people came to this year's Thanksgiving Turkey 'dinner' at Sacred Heart Auditorium put on by the Prince George St. Vincent De Paul Society.

The noontime Sunday meal was prepared by many volunteers, including a College of New Caledonia Chef and his 28 Culinary Arts Students. St. Vincent De Paul Executive Director Bernie Gould says they had plenty of food.

“We had sixteen 30 pound turkeys, 250 pounds of Ham, 200 Pounds of Potatoes, 50 Pounds of Frozen Vegetables and 160 Pies for Dessert,” said Gould.

She says not only were the CNC students at the Auditorium by 6am Sunday morning, they also had many volunteers who helped serve the food.

Hayley Maharaj was one of them. “I'm volunteering to help the less fortunate and let them have a home cooked meal,” said Maharaj. “I saw an ad on Friday and I just decided to do it.”

Cliff Raphael said he wanted to bring a warmer atmosphere to the 'dinner.' “Music has always been a part of my growing up, so it's just—I guess—a natural expression of what's inside of me,” said Raphael.

“It's fun to be able to sing—I'm feeling good, for sure, as I walk around I'm actually looking at people and I can see on some faces, and sometimes I feel drawn—so me being to sing is, I guess, touching [people]”

Gould says they even had to turn people away. “We had over 300 calls of people wanting to volunteer, but we're sorry to those who we couldn't bring in for help,” said Gould.

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