GREENFIELD — Keila Santana and four other volunteers spooned out helpings of rice, turkey, cranberry sauce, corn and green beans to guests at the Living Waters Assembly of God church Thursday, wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving on their way through the line.
Santana, girls ministry leader at the church, is also the primary coordinator of its annual Thanksgiving dinner, through which she hopes no one will be alone or without a meal on the holiday.
The dinner is open to all, but Santana said it can be particularly important for the homeless or people who are simply unable to be with their families for the holidays. For those who need help with transportation, Santana said volunteers pick up guests with a minivan.
“For me, it’s special,” she said of the community meal. “At some point in your life, you know how it is to not have a lot, or anything. … I just want to let (those people) know there’s someone that cares.”
Santana recounted how a church member thanked her for having the dinner, now in its second year, because he lives too far from his surviving family members and would have been alone for Thanksgiving. Though the holidays can be an emotional time, Santana said she hopes offering the meal will help guests have an enjoyable, communal day.
“We want to give back and reach out to those who might not have a place to go on Thanksgiving,” said Assistant Pastor Rafael Hernandez.
“Especially on Thanksgiving, it’s not the time of year to be alone,” agreed Tony Cruz, the church’s youth pastor and Santana’s husband, who said the purpose of the dinner is to “spread the love.”
Steffanie Richards, a church member who helped with serving, was living in a homeless shelter when she attended the dinner last year. Now she resides in Greenfield, and comes back to volunteer because of the impact the church had on her.
“I felt accepted,” Richards said of attending last year’s dinner. “I felt loved. It felt like one big, happy family. They helped me get my feet off the ground.”
Richards’ parents, Lori and Russell Doel of Turners Falls, volunteered at the supper too.
“It’s a big family thing,” Lori Doel said. “That’s what our church is all about.”
“This is our Thanksgiving,” Richards added.
Terry Eaklor, another church member and volunteer from Turners Falls, said “it’s just a blessing” to volunteer for the dinner “because I’m helping other people.”
Darren and Noel LaBrecque, of Greenfield, attended the dinner with their friends Jennifer White, of Amherst, and White’s mother Patricia Barry, of Turners Falls.
Noel LaBrecque said the four used to go to her stepmother’s house for dinner, but because cooking became overwhelming, she didn’t have a dinner this year. With other family members living too far away, LaBrecque decided to reunite with fellow church members.
LaBrecque has been a member of the Living Waters Assembly of God church for 11 years, so though she said her autism leads her to feel uncomfortable around large groups, being surrounded by companions makes it easier.
“Even if I’m overwhelmed today, it’s not like going up to a stranger,” she said.
Cruz said the dinner served between 40 and 45 people last year, a number he and Hernandez hoped would double this year and continue to grow, allowing the church to have a greater impact in the community.
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