At San Juan Hills High School, Thanksgiving has taken on a new meaning: gratitude is the merely first step, and service is the next.
Before the turkey even reaches the dinner table, students and clubs all across campus already helped fill shelves, adopted families, and stocked food pantries, transforming the holiday of giving thanks into the season of giving to others.
According to the National Archives museum, the very first thanksgiving was a great feast shared with others in celebration of a successful harvest. Fifty-two English men and women invited over 90 Wampanoag Native Americans to share in giving thanks for the food on their tables. Today, many families across the United States are struggling to put food on the table, especially during this holiday season.
With the recent government shutdown causing a delay in SNAP payments, food banks and other food assistance organizations are struggling to make up the difference. According to NPR.org, “SNAP provides roughly nine times the volume of food assistance as the entire network of the nation’s nonprofit food banks, and even the most generous gifts cannot make up for SNAP reductions or delays.”
This holiday season will certainly be difficult not only for food banks but for those who depend on them to put food on the table for their families. Many in our communities will rejoice for lavish feasts of stuffing and roasted turkey, losing sight of the thousands of families around us that struggle to even put a singular daily meal on the table.
At SJHHS, chapters of organizations such as the National Honors Society and California Scholarship Federation have dedicated this holiday season to giving back to the community and turning gratitude into service for others.
“I think once you take that step towards gratitude and think about all the good around you, that’s when you really want to start serving and giving back to all of these people in our community,” said Addison Hansen, President of the SJHHS chapter of CSF.
In this season of giving, student members of CSF can get involved in service through projects such as the Adopt-a-Family drive, where the club has “adopted” three families and taken up the tasks of providing them with gifts and essentials such as shoes, clothing, toiletries, toys, and gift cards. Sign ups for Adopt-a-Family are still open and many donations are still needed to fulfill family wish lists.
“Engaging in service around the holidays helps our students focus on gratitude and the true meaning of holidays like thanksgiving,” said Hansen.
Meanwhile, NHS is echoing that same spirit of gratitude and service all across campus.
“For NHS, service is a core pillar to our organization, and what we stand for,” says Ariana Price, president of NHS.
“This holiday season, NHS is participating in various drives in order to give back to our local communities, such as Family Assistance Ministries. It’s a food pantry, so it’s a great way to give back with the spirit of Thanksgiving,” said Price.
Regardless of how students choose to serve this holiday season, it is imperative for them to remember to be grateful for the blessings in their lives and the food on their tables.
“Give your heart when you serve and really put as much as you can into serving, and the result will not only benefit who you are serving, but it will have a greater benefit to your own personal development,” said Price, as her concluding message to her peers.
Students should remember this holiday season, that Thanksgiving is about much more than giving thanks, it’s about giving back.
