Maina Soto and Natsuki Yamaoka said the feast "sounded like fun,” so they signed up. "We're international students," said Yamaoka, "and it's very difficult for us to go back home during the semester."

"It's really good to have this," added Soto.

Volunteer Alvaro Pereira, a Berkeley Ph.D. student, said he enjoyed making sure guests like 12-year-old Jaden Hill and his mother, Nina, a Berkeley transfer student, received Thanksgiving cheer. Both mother and son expressed their hope that the event reappears next year.

Alvaro Pereira, a student at Berkeley Law, said he volunteered to serve dinner “to meet new people and give something back.” (UC Berkeley photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Hotel Durant, a longstanding partner of Rec Sports, "was extremely excited to support this cause, and some of our local partners made donations to ensure that this event was a tremendous success," said Dell Dellinger, regional managing director of Gemstone Hotels and Resorts, which acquired the hotel in 2013. "It is very humbling to witness these types of localized community responses."

At Rec Sports, the idea for the Thanksgiving dinner came from "our passion and belief that Rec Sports is more than a gym, we're a community. We encourage everyone to make a difference in the lives of others," said Watz, who worked with Hotel Durant and Henry’s to develop the event.

The Thanksgiving meal for Berkeley students is part of a larger, campus-wide 30 Days of Gratitude campaign that was designed and delivered by Rec Sports. As part of Tuesday's event, guests were invited to complete the sentence "I'm grateful for ________" using a gratitude card provided by Rec Sports. They were encouraged to share their responses through their social networks using #30CalGratitudeDinner2016.

More Thanksgiving bounty was shared with Berkeley students on Nov. 17 by representatives of the UC Police Officers Association, who delivered frozen turkeys, boxes of produce and $30 gift cards to 60 families living at University Village in Albany. The community service initiative was also sponsored by Cal Dining and University Village management.

Editor's Note:
Some of the other colleges who sponsor this kind of holiday giving for students across the country are:

Ohio State, Smith College, Pomona College, Boston College, San Diego Community Colleges and Carnegie-Mellon.  At UC San Diego, international students will have a chance to dine with local families on Thursday as part of the Thanksgiving Exchange program. At Palomar College in San Marcos, California,  Extended Opportunities Programs and Services gave 200 economically and socially disadvantaged students $30 gift certificates to Albertsons supermarkets on Nov. 18. We're sure there are other schools, too, who are offering this kind of service. 

Pages: 1 · 2

More Articles

• Stanford Medicine Study: Around age 13, Kids’ Brains Shift From Focusing on Their Mothers’ Voices to Favor New Voices
• Ferida Wolff Writes: This Holiday Season
• Kaiser Health News (KHN): Colleges and Universities Plan for Normal-ish Campus Life in the Fall
• Jill Norgren Reviews The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again ... An intriguing book about change and turning points
• Diane Girard Writes: Survival Against the Odds; The Hardy Charm of The Independent Book Store
• National Museum of African American History and Culture Launches Web Portal, “Talking About Race”
• Ferida's Wolff's Backyard: Is Nature Doing Social Distancing? The Town Where the Official State of New Jersey Was Declared
• Stay Safe At Protests: "Separate Yourself From Violence" and "Don't Get Baited by Provocateurs"
• Julia Sneden: A Grandmother by Any Other Name
• A Magical of Christmas; a Season of Hope