The seventh annual “Feast of Giving” took place at the Dayton Convention Center on Fifth Street this past Thanksgiving, where volunteers helped feed about 8,000 people who were less fortunate, hungry or just alone for the holiday.
This was a three-hour-long event that focuses on reaching out to the Dayton community, as well as providing food and social interaction. Amongst these volunteers were the Sinclair Men’s Basketball Team.
The Tartan Pride helped out by being “table turners,” which means they served the community by cleaning up tables and picking up empty plates after someone was finished with his or her meal. Even though the team didn’t get to go home for Thanksgiving right away, they didn’t mind lending a helping hand.
“It feels good because this is my city. I’m from Dayton, so I always love to give back. I was telling one of my teammates, ‘you have to cherish moments like this because you could easily be that person that is getting served,’ so it feels good to give back,” said sophomore guard, DeAngalo Gates.
Feeding 8,000 people certainly is a big task and perhaps one that can be stressful to some, but most people on the basketball team looked happy to help out. Players greeted people with a smile, while lending a helping hand and it appeared to make a positive impact on many of those who attended the dinner. For some players, this is not a new experience.
“I enjoy this actually. I don’t mind to do this—something I can do for others [who] can’t help themselves. I’ve volunteered back home in Kentucky,” said freshman guard, Hayden Smith.
Something else that the event tackled was helping those who are alone for the holiday have some kind of social interaction with other people at the dinner. According to Assistant Coach Herb Shaughnessy, he noticed more people eating together.
“I’ve always realized people were here to get the food on a day like Thanksgiving, but I had never noticed individuals coming in here that just need companionship and someone to spend the day with—that was kind of a very weird realization,” said Shaughnessy
Going on break is something that most students look forward to—they get to spend time with their families, friends and catch up on some much needed sleep. Though the team takes time out of their lives to help during break, Coach Price said the players buy into it.
“As always, they want to be with their family, but once they get here and see the experience, they buy in. Before you know it, it is two o’clock and we are on our way home,” said Price.
Being at a community college, Price is determined to give back to the Dayton community.
“It is a chance for us to give back to the community and we are a community college. So one of the things I said when I was hired was I wanted our team to be in the community since we are a community college and we wanted to give back. We have been able to do that over the past 15 years,” said Price.