Holiday Meal 2015

Thank you to the BHS Community!

The Holiday Meal is an event that allows for the intrinsic altruism of our community to shine. With over 300 guests and over 300 volunteers, the energy in the building was extremely positive. We also did our best to make the best of what was left from the meal. Leftover food was delivered to the Harrison House and to the All Souls Church. Five bins of food were picked up by the Alameda County Food Bank. Unclaimed clothing has been brought to a local Goodwill. It is an understatement to say that this was a team effort to make the Holiday Meal such a success.Big thanks go out to the Mayumi Rubin-Saika, current Chief of Service, was the organizer of the meal She raised the level of organization and community contributions. Thanks also to Tom Watts, for leading the charge in the kitchen. Gitara “G” Spinks, BHS Head Chef, also played a huge part in the kitchen and delivering the food to the Harrison House. Thank you also to all of the cooks that prepped the pasta dishes and the soup cart.

The following businesses contributed to the meal: Andronico’s, Trader Joe’s, Cheeseboard, ACME Bread, Monterrey Market, and The Dorothy Day House contributed to the toiletry drive hosted by the BHS Homeless Support Club.

Local families also gave many prepared turkeys, hams and other tasty dishes. Thank you to the contributing families: Betts, Lakireddy, Thomason, Goldstein, Hart, Grubb, Bigelow-Teller, Schonberg, Akiyama, Dorward, Hummel, Lee, Goldman, Wild, Rubin-Saika, Rowland, Sawyer, Katz, Stevens, Meuris, Love, Ehrengerger, Citragno, Truskier, Scheuer, Sherman, Aaron, Weber, Beeman, Suttie, Arbitblit, Smith, Elowitz, O’Keefe, Stralka, Havilan, Eccles, Levitch, Gross, Brosgart, Luevano, Marston, Ratto, Duignan, Wilkins, Casado, Gottlieb, Jacobs, Galbraith, Jeanneau, Fichtenkort, Tezza, Wrubel, Kramp, Galbraith, Johnson, Ambrose, Cohen, Waters, Reichert, Sharma Prunet, Mahar, Maurer, Lerner, Richmond, Alladin, Evans, Omori, Zukor, Waters, Waldman, Davenport, LaFetra, Drinkwater, Sperber, Takaro, Ambrose, Haug, Berger, Reed, Wallin, Williams, Major, Soe, Lamb, Anscher, Choy, Slemp among other anonymous donors!

AND a big thanks to the 300-plus volunteers who showed up during the two days. You contributed over 700 hours of total volunteer time. This could not be done without your help! If you need documentation for service hours, include Mr. V as the contact person for your service hours.

Berkeley High Holiday Dinner 2015 Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/53901376@N04/albums/72157662351610355

Berkeley High Holiday Dinner 2015 Video (4 minutes): https://vimeo.com/148767481

If you can’t wait until next year’s Holiday Meal, consider looking up the hours and dates of a local soup kitchen to volunteer. (St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley)

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