Thanksgiving Basket Drive
Jesuit helps 165 families in need enjoy a robust Thanksgiving meal
Scan to view a segment by
WFLA-NBC Ch. 8
JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2017-18 9
After a month of build-up and
preparation, Jesuit High School’s
annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive
culminated November 19, as students
packed and delivered 165 abundant
Thanksgiving baskets to families in
need in the Tampa Bay area.
About 150 Jesuit students, along
with dozens of family members,
alumni, and Jesuit staff, came to
campus that Sunday to celebrate Mass
and then prepare the “baskets” – large
cardboard boxes fi lled with everything
needed for a complete, robust
Thanksgiving meal for a large family:
frozen turkeys, cooking pans, stuffi ng,
potatoes, rice, cranberries, vegetables,
gravy, and more.
The Jesuit cafeteria was bustling
with activity that morning, as everyone
fi rst enjoyed breakfast before packing
the baskets. The students then delivered
more than 100 of the baskets to
families at six area Boys & Girls Clubs,
and another 40 were delivered directly
to families connected to the Migrant
Education Program. Several more were
delivered to private homes.
The drive caught the attention of
local media. WFLA-NBC Ch. 8 covered
the event on Sunday, and FOX 13 came
to Jesuit a few days earlier when the
students were unloading all of the
food, which had been bulk-purchased
by Jesuit’s Director of Community
Service, Andy Wood ’92. The FOX 13
segment ran as part of station’s “What’s
Right with Tampa Bay” series. Scan the
QR codes below to access the video
segments.
Wood launched the drive in late
October, challenging the student body
to raise more than $300 per homeroom
via weekly collections, enough
to fulfi ll the promise of 165 baskets
delivered. The students responded by
raising a total of $11,610, with the
homeroom of teachers April Bombka
and Lauren Hescheles leading the way
with $1,412. Including contributions
from Homecoming Fun Day ($2,447)
and a Mothers’ Club bake sale ($643),
the total raised was $14,700.
The money was used to purchase all
of the food (except the turkeys) and
supplies, as well as a $25 Walmart gift
card for each basket. The Jesuit Dads’
Club, as it does each year, provided the
turkeys. The dads collected 275 frozen
turkeys from the school community,
and the 100+ extra turkeys were
dispersed to organizations helping
those in need.
Scan to view a “What’s Right with
Tampa Bay” segment by FOX 13