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“If you sign up for volunteering at Disney, your name never goes off the list,” said David Walters, hoisting a half-dozen bags of meals outside the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center at East 93rd and First. “I used to work for Disney eight, ten years ago. I’m still on the list.”
Walters and his wife have volunteered to deliver meals on Thanksgiving for six or seven years. “We’ve met some incredible people,” he said. “It’s very nice to chat with them because sometimes we’re the only people they see that day.”
As he headed to 85th street to drop off the food, more bag-laden volunteers emerged from the center. Inside, dozens of people assembled the boxed meals in a careful choreography, then stacked them on carts to be rolled into the next room and assigned addresses for delivery.
Across the park, Goddard Riverside’s headquarters at 88th and Columbus was similarly abuzz with activity. Volunteers sliced turkey and stacked rows of pie in preparation for hundreds of guests. Others packed bags for to be carried to nearby homes.
“I walked by one day in 1994 to donate a pie and I saw all of these amazing volunteers working and I thought how wonderful it would be to join that community,” said Diane Lifton. She’s been coming to Thanksgiving and Christmas ever since, first as a volunteer and later as a member of the organizing committee.
“It’s incredibly rewarding working together with members of the community to create a special meal for our guests. It’s also incredible to meet our guests,” she added.
We’re grateful for the volunteers who make our Holiday Meals possible—especially the committee members who spend hours organizing the day so it runs like clockwork. Volunteer signups for Christmas will open soon so keep an eye on our Holiday Meals page if you’d like to join us.
