Nov 24, 2009 6:08 am US/Eastern
Local School Takes Thanks-'giving' To New Level
West Village's Academy Of St. Joseph Steps Up With Huge Contributions To Local Mission That Feeds The Homeless
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Foreclosures and layoffs have made this anything but a thankful season for thousands of New Yorkers. Homelessness is on the rise, and food banks are gearing up for record crowds this Thanksgiving.
But one small school in the West Village is doing its part to help.
It looks like a game, but then, to 5- and 6-year-olds, almost everything is. But what the kids at the Academy of St. Joseph were doing Monday morning was something they, their parents, and their school take very seriously.
Giving.
They kids were loading a van with food, articles of clothing and entertainment they had been collecting for a month.
Angela Coombs, who started the private school two years ago, made compassion part of the school curriculum, and that extends to the families as well.
"Our parents our required to do 20 hours of service each year so that they can in fact be a role model for their children," Coombs said.
And the children have already learned the lesson.
When asked what sort of things she and her family brought for the people, first grader Amelia Madel said, "Heavy socks, winter gloves and ... underpants."
The students then offered their thoughts on what it means to them, personally, to be helping.
"Happy, because then if we help people, no more people will be poor and then I don't get sad," first grader Jose Manuel said.
"It makes me feel good because I like caring," second grader Charlotte Handley added.
The items they're donating will end up at the Bowery Mission.
This is always a busy time of year for the Mission, but it is expecting thousands more people for Thanksgiving dinner this year.
"We last year fed about 3,000. I'm believing this year is going to be 5,000 to 6,000 people we're going to feed," said the Mission's James Macklin.
The Mission has already started cooking the 1,000 turkeys it will be serving. The bad economy has given the cooks more practice than usual.
"Every day our building is flooded. We serve three meals a day, every day, 365 days a year, and every day the chapel is packed with people," Macklin said.
And this Thanksgiving, as they get a warm meal and maybe a pair of heavy socks, or underpants, they'll have a few new reasons to be thankful -- that some little people understand this holiday is about more than food and family and football.
"If we can help them we should help them," Madel said.
By the time they reach eighth grade, those kids, including Amelia, will be expected to donate one hundred hours of community service a year.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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