St. Anthony puts ‘giving’ into Thanksgiving

By Wendy Longley - Florida Catholic

FORT LAUDERDALE | Helping the less fortunate is as much a part of Thanksgiving tradition as turkey and pumpkin pie. But at St. Anthony Church and School, the tradition this year became “a movement,” according to Arlee Pabustan, parish director of youth ministry.

“Our food drive has been active for a very long time through various ministries in the church,” he said. “But this year, it became a movement, when students were given an incentive to compete for the most food items collected.”

It began with Darby Arch and Jenna McIntosh, eighth grade teachers who decided to designate their students to oversee the lower grades in their Giving at Thanksgiving initiative this year.

“They turned it into a huge success,” Pabustan said. “Before we knew it, bags of nonperishable food items began to flood the classrooms as the students competed against each other for the most items collected.”

Inspired by the Youth of Broward County, who for the past two years have gone on a “scavenger hunt” in the more affluent suburb of Rio Vista, St. Anthony students did something similar to support their school food drive.

“We collected over 3,000 nonperishable food items over a period of three weeks, which is record breaking for our students,” said Pabustan.

After tallying the items and choosing a winner, the school volunteers delivered the food to one of two local agencies: Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center and Jack and Jill Children’s Center.

Once there, the items were sorted and placed in Thanksgiving baskets, ready to be delivered to families throughout Broward County. Volunteers from St. Anthony also signed up to gift-wrap and deliver the baskets to families all across Broward early on the morning of Nov. 22.

One of those volunteers was school parent Sabrina Farmer.

“My family always make time to give back to those in need in our community,” she said. “It is rewarding for our children to know what a positive effect it has on families and to give more than to receive.”

“Our students did very well and we applaud every one of them and their families for their kindness and generosity. This is how we like to celebrate Thanksgiving at St Anthony,” said Pabustan.

He is convinced that students’ single-minded focus on the needs of the less fortunate prompted a more active food drive this year. But he said the parish and school is committed to help others beyond Thanksgiving.

“I would love to see the church and the school community become even more actively involved in supporting local food pantries in Broward,” he said. “In turn, it helps hundreds of families who depend on food pantries for food, which is a basic human need after all.”