Thousands turned out for turkey dinners during The Old Savannah City Mission Day of Great Thanksgiving in Forsyth Park. Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Volunteers prepare turkey dinners during Saturday’s Day of Great Thanksgiving in Forsyth Park. Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
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By Arek Sarkissian II

On Thursday morning, the Rev. Jim Lewis, executive director of Old Savannah City Mission, said he had so many volunteers come forward to help at the 12th Annual Day of Great Thanksgiving, he had to turn some away.

“I took in 800 volunteers this year,” Lewis said with a beaming smile as some of them filed in and out of his Midtown facility to monitor the flock of turkeys smoking in pits outside. “We had 1,200 come forward, and I had to turn 400 away.”

On Saturday, another 400 volunteers showed up out of the blue at the event at Forsyth Park, according to Lewis’ volunteer coordinator, Glenn Paddock, who also is a student at the mission. View photos from the event.

“We had volunteers wait in line for two hours to come and serve – they waited patiently and with joy,” Paddock said. “It was amazing to watch that outpouring.”

The same could be said of the turnout to the 12th annual event: 6,248 dinners were served, 970 more than last year, Lewis said. Although the mission planned for 7,000 dinners, the rest of the food will be used at the mission, where up to 500 mouths are fed every day.

Wiley’s Championship BBQ owner Wiley McCrary, who provided his resources and expertise in smoking the turkeys, said the success of the event grows every year.

“Every year grows one on top of the other,” McCrary said. “We started off small, and now we’re the size we are today.”

View photos from the Old Savannah City Mission’s Smoking of the turkeys.

Opening eyes, mouths

Lewis said the Thanksgiving luncheon coincidentally was scheduled on the last day of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Along with tours of the mission facility during the week, Lewis hosted a “Night in a Box” on Friday, during which 37 people slept in cardboard boxes to see what it was like to be homeless. Along with sleeping in the mission’s asphalt parking lot, participants were given firsthand accounts from a select group of homeless men and women.

“We had a couple people say, ‘Is this really safe?’ And I said, ‘Yes, but you don’t have to stay if you don’t feel comfortable,’” Lewis said.

“They did … and it changed them – they now have a new perspective.”

Breaking barriers

Volunteers at Saturday’s luncheon were urged to strike up conversations with those they were serving. The mission’s pursuit of breaking barriers was continued by volunteers wearing Pilgrim hats to symbolize the first Thanksgiving and its celebration of the union of colonists and American Indians.

The urge to serve attracted some well-known faces in the community. Savannah-Chatham police Interim Chief Willie Lovett traded his blue uniform and black patrol boots to serve food wearing street clothes, a bright red Old Savannah City Mission apron and an orange baseball hat. Annual Thanksgiving volunteer Pete Liakakis also was seen scouring tables to clean up empty trays and soda cans.

“This is the largest crowd I think we’ve ever seen,” Liakakis said. “But we’ve never attracted this many volunteers.”

Good times, old friends

The event was a reunion for many.

Anthony Tinney said Saturday was his second Thanksgiving in Forsyth Park, and he was impressed by the organization.

“People are a lot more satisfied with the way they’re being serviced,” Tinney said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie.”

Lolanda Baker, her children, nieces and siblings were also veterans of the event. She said the day was a chance to break bread with old friends.

“It’s good to see your friends you haven’t seen in a long time,” she said.

This year’s spread was a first for Greenville, S.C., transplant David Lemanski, who is unemployed.

“It’s awesome – the music and the give-aways,” he said, noting the hospitality shown by the community and area churches was wonderful.

“I just wish there was more work” available in the area, he added, saying he hoped to find a job soon.
HELP PAY THE BILLS
Rev. Jim Lewis, director of the Old Savannah City Mission, said his organization could use some help paying for the Thanksgiving luncheon. The bill for the turkeys is due Dec. 10.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can call 912-232-1979 or go to www.oscm. org.

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Soup kitchen workers are seeing new faces in line and charities are taking more calls for help as the recession makes for a less-than-bountiful Thanksgiving. Hunger relief advocates petitioned Congress for help Thursday. 4A