Alumni Assist with Annual Thanksgiving Drive
It’s a Thanksgiving tradition that Blue Jays continue to support long after they graduate from Carrollton and Banks. Alumni from the 1940s to the 2000s return to Jesuit each year to participate in the annual Thanksgiving Drive. The tradition dates back nearly 100 years, and continues to bring back more alumni each year. At least as early as 1927, a Thanksgiving Drive was being organized by the student Sodality, who placed boxes in each classroom for the collection of food items for the city’s poor.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, alumni gather enough perishable and non-perishable items to provide a complete Thanksgiving dinner for basket recipients. The Class of 1983 also provides enough turkeys for not only the alumni baskets, but also for more than 200 student baskets. The alumni portion of the Thanksgiving Drive costs between $8,000 and $9,000, and a group of alumni from the 1970s and 1980s have begun a class-level appeal dedicated to covering the expense. Alumni may donate to the drive to help cover the costs of providing these meals.
It started last week when Dan Senentz ’83 spoke to students at Morning Assembly, encouraging Blue Jays to do their best to provide a Thanksgiving meal for needy families in our area, and continued today as members of the Alumni Association gathered food items to pack boxes for 180 needy families in the metro area. Several individual alumni classes, such as the Class of 2007, have also adopted families and will work on organizing those boxes for tomorrow’s delivery.
The Alumni Association will meet Wednesday morning to finish adding perishable items to the baskets. Many alumni will join with students and faculty in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs at the Prayer Service. The drive culminates with the basket delivery as alumni, students, faculty, and perhaps a parent or two, make their way to the neighborhoods of the city to brighten the lives of a few hundred families.
Thanksgiving Day Mass
The entire community of Jesuit High School is invited celebrate Mass on Thanksgiving Day at 10 a.m. in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs.
Galleries
2013 Thanksgiving Drive, Alumni, Nov. 26, 2013
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Mike Varisco '83 and Tommy Barbier '84 help unload a truck full of produce and other food items.
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Graham Williams '08 and Jeff Gelpi '08 move a cart from the truck to the cafeteria.
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Tommy Barbier '84 and David Bendewald '89 move cans of vegetables to the cafeteria.
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Boxes sit ready to be loaded outside the cafeteria.
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Jesuit alumni gather in Traditions Courtyard on the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 20 for a group photo before the work begins to help serve as part of the annual Thanksgiving drive.
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Mat Grau III '92 moves boxes from the cafeteria into the Student Commons.
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Wayne del Corral '77, Bob Stevens '74, and Graham Williams '08
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John Laughlin '80 and William Stoudt '07 move items to the Student Commons.
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David Bendenwald '89
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Rob Stevens '04 packs a box.
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Jeff Gelpi '08 helps load a box.
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Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald thanks 2013 Turkey Drive chairman Dan Senentz.
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With Mike Varisco behind the wheel, Santa's sleigh arrives with more than 400 gobblers.
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The assembly forms.
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Dan Senentz and Ron Drez
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Charles Thomas and Dickie Dupre
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Brian North and Tommy Capella unload turkeys from the truck.
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Mike Pflueger, who lives in Chicago, with Dan Senentz
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Sal Bernadas and Otis Alexander
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Mike Marquis and Rene Alvarez
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Eric Derbes and Malcolm Schwarzenbach
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The hands-on crew of 1983 with new service projects director Kevin Murphy '00 and former service projects director Helen Swan, who now serves as Jesuit's director of student activities
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Turkey Drive treasurer Rene Alvarez reports that the 2013 drive is a record-breaker.
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Empty! The work is done...until next year. Thank you, Class of 1983, for everything you do for each other and for Jesuit!
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Eric Simonson '82 helps coordinate families of all ages to help load the groceries into baskets.
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Mike Lavie '80 distributes bags of apples.
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Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J. thanks Ian Blanchard '03 for participating in the alumni effort.
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John Bendernagel '80 with his son, John, and wife, Corinne
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Alumni director Mat Grau '68 gets a little help with quality control from an expert, son of Maurice Opotowsky '03.
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The alumni make sure fruits and vegetables go into each basket. These baskets will be picked up by local families on Wednedsay.
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Eric Simonson '82, Tomm Barbier '84, John McMahon '87, and Mike Lavie '80 did a great job encouraging their classes to support the drive.
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D.J. Galiano '07 helps distribute food to baskets in the cafeteria.
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Ian Blanchard '03; Chip Hellmers '87; John Haas '03; and Jordan Barbier '11 pack more baskets in the cafeteria. These baskets will be delivered Wednesday to families transitional housing.
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Alumni bring their families to experience the goodwill of the Thanksgiving Drive.
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Blue Jay alumni arrive Wednesday morning to help assist with delivering baskets to families.
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Blue Jay alumni help carry Thanksgiving dinners to cars: (From left) Brad Hoerner '10 and from the class of 2007, Ron Barrios, Mark Johnson, Ian Hoerner, Chris Johnson, William Stout, Jeff Schott, Connor Deegan, and Phil Sampognaro.
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Alumnus John Laughlin '80 carts out a basket to a family's car.
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Eric Derbes '83 pushes a cart full of groceries out of the courtyard ...
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... to take a basket to a family's car.