Marigny Elementary students learn about American Indian culture ä 8G
THE ST.TAMMANY
ADVOCATE
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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2015 H
COVINGTON • FOLSOM • LACOMBE • MADISONVILLE • MANDEVILLE • SLIDELL THENEWORLEANSADVOCATE.COM
Sharon Edwards
Churches gear up for holiday meal
TAMMANY TIMES
BY ANDREW CANULETTE Special to the Advocate
Present time: Give gifts for needy families As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, many are of the opinion that it’s too early to think about Christmas. But for the volunteers with St. Tammany Project Christmas, the deadline to help 700 families in need is less than two weeks away. Alan Smith is one of those volunteers. He said the number of families who qualified for assistance this year represents 1,500 children and 40 seniors. Donations are still needed for 350 of the children. “We’ve adopted out 1,150 of the children, and all the seniors,” Smith said. The families range in size from one child to seven. St. Tammany Project Christmas began in 2002 as a partnership that anonymously connects donations to St. Tammany families in need. If someone wants to help a family of four, for example, they are sent the information on a specific family, including ages of the boys and girls and a suggested Christmas wish list. Gifts can range from toys to clothes and bikes. The family’s name and where they live are never revealed, Smith said. The donations result in the parents being able to provide gifts to their children, along with and a good meal, on Christmas Day. On Dec. 12, the families will pick up the unwrapped gifts, as well as a certificate for a ham or turkey and other food items. Some donors even provide Christmas wrapping paper and tape, Smith said. Donations must be dropped off Dec. 7 or Dec. 8 at the American Red Cross Distribution Center, 300 Ashland Way in Madisonville, or at St. Luke the Evangelist Family Life Center, 910 Cross Gates Blvd. in Slidell. Last year, Project Christmas partnered with more than 43 businesses, 13 churches, 26 civic organizations, 10 schools and 150 individuals. Smith said a number of schools, including Archbishop Hannah High, are having toy drives. But most of the support comes from the families or individuals that contact Project Christmas to adopt a family. It’s not yet Thanksgiving, but I’m already thankful for those who want to make sure all families in St. Tammany share in the tradition of Christmas gift-giving and dinner. Project Christmas board members and officers for 2015-16 are President Ginny Kamath, Vice President Mike Callaway, Secretary Cherie Erkel, Treasurer Tim Helbling and Jewell Bayhi, Cheryl Beaver, Beth Gibson, C.J. Griffin, Julie Selking, Alan Smith and Suzanne Switzer. Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to St. Tammany Project Christmas, P.O. Box 4043, Slidell, LA 70459. For information, email information@stprojectchristmas.org, call (985) 259-5770 or visit stprojectchristmas. org.
The essence of the Thanksgiving holiday is gratitude for the good things in our lives. It’s about family, too, and about giving back to the community. And, of course, there’s the food. Tammy White has found a way to combine all those things. She and her two teenage daughters, Abigail and Allison Mims, as well as her husband, Marc White, volunteer at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Slidell as part of a team that puts on a large community Thanksgiving meal each year. Their efforts, along with scores of other volunteers from a dozen area churches, fed
more than 700 people last year. Meals were served at Aldersgate, as well as at Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church. Volunteers’ labors include more than just serving hot meals for a couple of hours on Thanksgiving morning. Turkeys must be bought and prepared a few days before they’re cooked. There are pies to be baked and all the traditional fixings to be readied. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, there are hot meals to be served not only at Aldersgate and Mount Olive but also to be picked up and delivered to those who cannot reach one of the churches that day. Then, there’s the cleanup.
The 19th annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner will begin with food deliveries at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Cleanup will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sit-down meals will be served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Aldersgate and Mount Olive AME. This will be the fourth year White and her family help with the dinner. “The first year, we helped prepare meals,” she said. “The second year, we helped deliver them. One year, we drove to Covington and dropped off meals to the sheriff’s officers who weren’t able to be with their own families on Thanksgiving Day. äSee HOLIDAY, page 2G
Advocate staff photo by SCOTT THRELKELD
Tammy and Marcus White, with their children, Abigail, left, and Allison Mims, and baby Philip White, volunteer at Aldersgate United Methodist Church’s annual Thanksgiving Day food giveaway.
Do-gooders indulge in some wishful thanking BY MISSIE NOEL
Special to The Advocate
Advocate staff photo by SCOTT THRELKELD
Kindergartners Shyla Michel, left, and Mattox McKenzie hold hands as they and classmates head to the Mayflower during ‘The Pilgrim’s Voyage,’ a class ‘field trip’ last week at Pontchartrain Elementary in Mandeville.
Pilgrim’s progress
Pontchartrain Elementary students learn about hardships aboard Mayflower, in the New World Advocate staff report Ever wonder about the hardships the Pilgrims faced in traveling to the New World? Ask a kindergartner in Amanda Farris’ class at Pontchartrain Elementary in Mandeville, and you’ll likely learn a lot. The students took a costumed “field trip” aboard the Mayflower last week. It might have been sunny in Mandeville, but aboard their ship it was mostly stormy. The real pilgrims stayed below deck for almost the whole 66-day voyage in 1620, Farris explained in describing her lesson. Be-
cause the Mayflower was a cargo ship, not really designed for people, quarters were especially tight. “Below deck there was no fresh air. There were animals. People used chamber pots, and there was seasickness. ... People didn’t bathe. It smelled bad.” Since the water and food on the real ship spoiled early on, Farris’ young Pilgrims drank (ginger) beer, the way the 17thcentury Pilgrims did; they ate dried meat (jerky) and hard tack (crackers). Boring food and bad smells — things äSee PROGRESS, page 10G
Griffin Robbins raises a toast .
You don’t have to think very hard to make a list of people and agencies that St. Tammany residents can thank for making the parish a better place. Our quick list included The Humane Society, Alexander Milne Development Services, the local branch of Louisiana Veterans Affairs and parish government. But we wondered about who the less obvious contributors might be, so we asked those on our list who they are thankful for. Here’s what they said: Alexander Milne Development Services is relatively new to St. Tammany. It had been located in New Orleans, but Hurricane Katrina destroyed its campus. A temporary home in Laurel, Mississippi, bought time for it to build a new campus in Waldheim on 55 acres, with 12 cottages housing 48 special-needs people. But learning the ropes here during such a time of change was a challenge. Linda Feringa, a member of Milne’s board, is thankful for the STARC organization, specifically Director Diane Baham. “Since the minute we began makBaham ing plans to return to Louisiana, they were so helpful. Diane is a wealth of information about St. Tammany, and we look forward to partnering with STARC in the future. Milne is forever grateful for the friendly tips and advice that Diane and our community neighbors at STARC have given to Milne.” The St. Tammany Humane Society, one of the largest no-kill shelters in the state, runs mostly on donations and community fundraising. Michele Nazar, the volunteer and special events coordinator, was quick to thank one special contributor. “I can think of many folks and groups that help us, but one stands above all others: Christian Serpas and his group, Christian Serpas & Ghost Town. Christian and his band have played at nuäSee WISHFUL, page 2G