Written by: Michelle Kokot, Athletic Communications Assistant
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – While it's one thing to stuff yourself on Thanksgiving Day, it's a whole different story to fill someone else's plate.
The Niagara University community had much to be thankful for and, with the holiday season in full swing, the Purple Eagle student-athletes, coaches and staff took a moment out of their busy schedules to give back to the those less fortunate by participating in Thankful Thanksgiving.
Now in its third year, this season's program was geared towards helping the inner city Special Olympic Athletes and their families. It was a collective effort as members of Athletic Department—athletic teams, coaching staff, ticket staff, and trainers—helped organize food, such as gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, canned fruit and the most important part of any Thanksgiving dinner, a turkey. Other individuals were in charge of picking up food from different buildings or loading up cars to deliver food, while other athletic teams delivered the baskets to the families.
Sam Giancola, the Academic Counselor for Student Athletes at Niagara University, spearheaded the effort as the idea stemmed from his former days as the dean of students at Niagara Falls High School where he organized a program called "12 Days of Christmas".
The program asked the community to donate food, which was assembled into meals by children enrolled at NFHS and was eventually distributed to families of some classmates that could use a little bit of help during the holidays. The concept was simple—each day called for a specific item for donors to provide—one day could feature cereal, while the next day would call for some type of meat to be used for a Christmas meal.
"After coming to Niagara, I figured the university community could do something for Thanksgiving so we created Thankful Thanksgiving," said Giancola.
The first year of Thankful Thanksgiving was limited to specific classes on campus that resulted in 15 families receiving a meal for the holiday. The following year that number doubled to 30 families after the athletics department became involved and this past Thanksgiving saw 53 families sit around a table with a full table of food. Forty-seven families received food baskets through the Niagara community's kindness, while six extra were delivered to Heart and Soul to in Niagara Falls for distribution.
"It's always great to give back to the community," said men's soccer assistant coach Miguel Rodrigues. "It was also remarkable to see how the University and Athletics pitched in to provide so many families in the community with a Thanksgiving meal. These little acts can mean a lot to these families and our student-athletes understand that."
Chelsea Watson of the Niagara volleyball squad was just one of many student-athletes who pitched in towards the cause. Watson, who participated in the program last year as well, organized and distributed meals to the families.
"It breaks my heart knowing there are families out there that are not able to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner," Watson said. "I love that we all could lighten the stress of the holidays by being able to help provide a nice meal for such deserving people. Mr. and Mrs. G are teaching a great lesson to us all, being thankful is what this holiday is all about. We should all be thankful that we can come home to a decent meal. I'm looking forward to next year and helping out again!"
Hopefully what Giancola has created, and with the continued support of the Purple Eagle community, this will turn into a tradition at Niagara University that will see many more lives brightened during the holiday season.
"This is what being a part of a Vincentian University is about—going out and helping people," said Giancola.
