A Day of Disappointment and Thanks

Several times when I was a child, my family chose to spend Thanksgiving Day volunteering at the Superfeast downtown. My father would leave very early in the morning to go help with the cooking of the turkeys and then my mother and us girls would then meet him down there a bit later to start helping with set up and serving of the food to those in needs. It was a very rewarding experience each time.

This year, Hubby & I spent Thanksgiving with my parents, and the four of us decided to spend it doing what we had done years ago by volunteering at the Superfeast again. H-town now has two MAJOR Thanksgiving meals for the needy & we decided to again do the outside one located downtown. However, this one is heavily sponsored by Waste Management, Walmart, etc, and unfortunately, as we learned, is not very well organized. It was nice to see all the volunteers, but there were just too many of us and not enough to do. Many of those "in charge" were misguiding us.

We spent the first few hours sorting through clothes and putting stupid Waste Management stickers on hats for those who were going to be serving the food. First of all, we were glad to see how much clothes had been donated, BUT so many of the clothes were old & dirty. It made me sad (and kind of grossed me out...why do people donate used underwear? BLEH!). Hubby & I decided we are going to go through our closet this weekend and donate some of our clothes and shoes that are still WEARABLE and CLEAN. Then there was the hat situation. I can't believe part of our volunteering was spent putting stickers on hats just so WM could advertise. How does this help the poor & hungry??? Everyone already knows that WM was the major sponsor. They made it VERY obvious. After we did this we stood around for SEVERAL hours in the cold trying to get some direction on what we could help with next. We were misdirected many times and scolded several times because we were in the way or we were close to violating a health department code. Please people, give us good direction so we can be of use and HELP....that's why we are here....not to be in your way or violate codes....or to help you advertise and make you look good. That's not what this is all about. Speaking of that....

We were FINALLY told how the serving works. The numbers on our name badges (which the people at the volunteer tent had NO CLUE about what they were for) were the number they would call out when it was our time to serve the food and we would only be serving for like 10-15 minutes. My, Hubby's, and my Dad's number was in the 590s or and b/c my mom was in a another line, hers was in the 100s. So, not only would it take forever to get to our numbers, but we would be separated from my Mom, and only serve food for like 10 minutes. How ridiculous is that?

THEN, the most ridiculous part of this experience was when it was closer to the time to start serving the spent over an hour thanking WM, Walmart, this congressman, that congresswoman, this and that "Big Wig", doing WM cheers, Walmart cheers, blah-blah-blah and all the while the poor hungry & cold people were just waiting in line to eat. Again, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for what we have and this particular occasion was for giving to those in need. It is NOT about boasting and making yourself, company, and your political party "look good." I didn't volunteer to do this to have my 10 minutes on the local news and to put a feather in my hat to make myself look good. I just simply want to help someone in need. That's it.

Many of us volunteers ended up standing around for hours cold and complaining. I decided I did not want to spend my Thanksgiving in that kind of environment and around people with poor and pompous attitudes . I'd rather go to my parents' house, eat turkey, and be thankful for what I have and remember the ethics and morals I have.

We won't be returning to that WM Superfeast again. Perhaps next time we will volunteer at a local church, food kitchen, or Salvation Army or something. And, hubby & I are going to do our charitable part this weekend and donate some clean, wearable clothes.

Anyway, our Thanksgiving Day did turn out to be a very good one. We spent the rest of the day with my parents eating yummy foods near with a fire in fire place & played a couple games of Bocce Ball in the cool, fall weather. I think that morning just made us even more thankful for what we have & for the scruples, morals, and ethics we choose to embrace. We didn't let a bad experience ruin our day or dampen our spirits. It was a learning experience & we chose to turn it into a good day.

There is much to be thankful for. Isn't there?