Students in the Freshman Leadership Program plan to spend their Saturday night serving turkey and pies as a benefit for the Precious Memories daycare.
Precious Memories, a nonprofit organization that cares for more than 100 children, does not turn anyone away who needs help, and as such, the children at the daycare are of all different ages and abilities.
However, Precious Memories’ building is in need of many improvements. The daycare is located in a very low income neighborhood, and the building itself used to be a bar and fight club.
Verna Kephart, who goes by Grandma Verna, is the owner of Precious Memories. She took over the run-down building and decided to turn it into a nonprofit daycare.
“The owner turned the place around into a safe environment where kids can stay while their parents are at work,” said Kelli Schroer, Arts & Sciences freshman.
This year’s dinner is part of a tradition that started almost four years ago with Steve Kelly, now a Business senior. The first dinner in 2006 hosted 60 people, and the crowd has been growing each year.
The organizers hope to sell at least 160 tickets for the dinner. Proceeds from the dinner go to helping the Precious Memories daycare improve its facilities and provide resources for the care it provides.
In the past, FLP has purchased a van, lunch tables and several Apple computers for the daycare. This year, they hope to raise enough money to build a playground for Precious Memories.
The organization of the dinner is managed by freshman FLP members.
Kelly and Arts & Sciences sophomore Kathleen Hart are co-chairs for the dinner. They manage the overall logistics and advise the freshmen, who are in charge of running the event.
The freshmen do most of the hands-on work, from organizing the night’s events to preparing the dinner itself.
These freshmen have been working on the dinner for the past month and have put in many hours to ensure the dinner’s success.
They attend weekly committee meetings to organize the dinner and also volunteer at the daycare itself at least twice a week.
All members of FLP are involved with the dinner in some way.
“I am really excited about the dinner this year because the team has already shown extreme passion and dedication to the cause,” Hart said.
“They really have taken their roles as leaders to the next level by embodying a visionary leadership style, which requires not only preparation for this year’s event but also project plans for the dinner in years to come. Their dedication shows very high potential for the Annual Precious Memories Thanksgiving dinner in the future.”
Five student-run committees are in charge of setting up this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. These committees focus on community activism, sales and advertising, dinner preparation, dinner host committee and public relations.
The meal features turkeys, potatoes, bread and pies. This year the speaker will be Grandma Verna.
“[The freshmen] put their heart and soul into the operations of the night to make sure it goes smoothly,” Kelly said.
The Thanksgiving dinner will be held at 6 p.m. in Lower St. John’s on Nov. 21. Tickets will be sold to students on the Skinner Mall this week.