An effort by the Greek community at Tufts recently gave dozens of families in Somerville a chance to celebrate this Thanksgiving.
Tufts fraternities and sororities, along with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, donated 100 Thanksgiving meals to families through the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC), according to Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Tanya McGinn Paolo.
Delta Upsilon (DU) Philanthropy Chair Evan Parker, who organized the donation, said that the Thanksgiving effort was unprecedented in its nature and size. "This was the first time we did anything like this," Parker, a sophomore, said.
Paolo, who first proposed the project, said that Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel recommended the SHC as a candidate to receive the food donations and put her in touch with the organization's executive director.
Most of the fraternities and sororities lent their support to the project, Parker said.
"I got really positive feedback and positive responses so we decided to go through with it," he said.
Parker and Paolo assigned certain food items to participating Greek chapters. Fraternities and sororities dropped off the food items at DU on Nov. 19 and 22.
Paolo also bought 100 turkeys financed through private donations and funds that the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs sets aside for community service initiatives.
DU brothers, along with fraternity and sorority affairs intern Daniel Flowers, purchased other food at Shaws and created 100 individual food bags to donate, according to Parker.
Parker, along with Paolo and fellow DU brothers Andrew Rayner and Zak Kline, both sophomores, on Nov. 19 delivered the food to the SHC's Davis Square office and on Nov. 22 to a food pantry on Franklin Street.
Every family received a food bag, a turkey and a turkey pan, Paolo said.
Zeta Beta Tau and Zeta Psi jointly donated canned vegetables, while Alpha Epsilon Pi gave cranberry sauce. Sigma Phi Epsilon donated cake and brownie mix, and DU contributed bags of stuffing.
Alpha Tau Omega and Delta Tau Delta together gave a roasting pan. Sigma Nu and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life donated muffin mix.
Sororities Chi Omega and Alpha Omicron Pi donated boxed potatoes and canned gravy, respectively, while Alpha Phi provided pasta mixes, according to Parker.
The food deliveries were positively received, Parker said.
"It turned out really well," Parker said. "By the time we dropped them off, there were already lines of people ready to pick them up. … The people getting it were very happy, along with the people who worked at the homeless shelter. They were really grateful."
Paolo echoed the sentiment, saying that the SHC was amazed at the volume of the donations.
"The executive director said that he was pretty skeptical that we had actually come up with 100 turkeys," she said. "They were really wonderful and obviously they were incredibly appreciative and thankful for all of the donations and everything the students did."
She said that the holiday presented an opportunity to help the community.
"I think I'm just so aware, especially in today's economy, there are so many needy families in the community," Paolo said. "I've always donated food personally. I just thought it would be a great idea."
Parker said that the project was successful and hopes to repeat it.
"It was a pretty good turnout across the board," he said. "Maybe we'll be able to continue it into the future. I'm sure we'll try to make it happen."
