Students who plan to stay in town for the holiday weekend might consider spending Thanksgiving Day as active members of society rather than as passive consumers.

Several churches and local organizations are still searching for volunteers who are willing to prepare and serve dinners to the less fortunate on Thursday. Although many students may already have dinner plans, an hour or two of donated time can still make a difference, said Angela Douglass, a member of OSPIRG at Lane Community College.
“It’s really rewarding because people get to see what the homeless are really like,” Douglass said. “For them to be able to feel grateful about something is really nice.”
Douglass and some of her fellow OSPIRG members at the University will help set up tables Wednesday for the Whitaker Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Whitaker School Head Start. OSPIRG students who volunteer foster bridges within the community, she said.
“I really like getting to know people and building coalitions,” Douglass said. “We can get things done together.”
For those who plan to spend Thanksgiving weekend at home with their families, a distant destination doesn’t have to hinder the ability to volunteer. University student Alden Gray will consider volunteering with his family at a soup kitchen in Corvallis, his hometown, on Thursday.
“I think it would be cool to give back,” Gray said.
Interior architecture student Kelsey Schopp said she would also like to volunteer on Thursday.
“Thanksgiving is all about being thankful and allowing other people to have that as well,” said Schopp.
Students who are homeward bound can also donate supplies to local dinner locations before they head out of town. The Whitaker Dinner still needs juice, warm sleeping bags and various toiletries for their dinner and overnight stay. If you have a toothbrush to spare, drop it off after 3 p.m. Wednesday at 21 North Grand St.
Billie Kauffman, a volunteer at Eugene Mission, has been serving Thanksgiving dinners to the less fortunate for three years.
“I just enjoy it,” Kauffman said. “I enjoy helping other people, and it’s been keeping me out of trouble.”
Barbara Butzer, director of programs and services at FOOD for Lane County, said people probably enjoy volunteering on Thanksgiving more than on any other holiday “because it makes them feel particularly good,” but Butzer says many people don’t realize local non-profit organizations need volunteers year-round.
“People feel charitable when they volunteer during the holidays, but the homeless aren’t just hungry on Thanksgiving,” she said.
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