THANKSGIVING DRIVE
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Focusing on
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The annual Thanksgiving Drive has been conducted by Blue Jay students since 1927—and possibly earlier. It is organized and executed by students under the guidance of Community Service Director Kevin Murphy ‘00. Feeding almost 600 families, the drive brings together students, alumni, parents, and faculty and staff in service of the community.
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s the sun rose on the Crescent City on the morning before Thanksgiving, the Jesuit community was already in high gear shopping for groceries at Robért Fresh Market on Allen Toussaint Blvd. Students and faculty arrived at 5 a.m. to purchase perishable food items as part of Jesuit’s annual Thanksgiving Drive. In the preceding weeks, homerooms, clubs, honor societies, and other student organizations collected nonperishable items that were combined in baskets with turkeys donated by the Class of 1983. The year’s drive, the latest in a decades-long Jesuit High School tradition, fed 576 families throughout 38 | J A Y N O T E S | F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 2 1
the greater New Orleans metropolitan area. After shopping at Robért’s and arriving back on campus to assemble food into deliverable boxes, students and faculty met in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs for prayer and reflection. The service was led by Fr. Kevin Dyer, S.J., Jesuit’s chaplain, and music was provided by Jesuit’s choir under the leadership of scholastic Jeff Miraflor, S.J. Senior Caleb Tolbert delivered an address that recalled the importance of his own service project at the Good Shepherd School, which was founded by former Jesuit High School president Fr. Harry Tompson, S.J., in 2001.
“Last summer, I found myself at the Good Shepherd School with close friends from Jesuit,” said Tolbert. “I really saw the value of fulfillment that can come from service. I relate this experience at Good Shepherd because, as Blue Jays, it should be our goal today on the Thanksgiving Drive and throughout our lives to have a positive impact on others no matter where or how we encounter them.” “It also reminds me of something that Coach Manale tells the football team: do more,” Tolbert added. Longtime faculty member Stephen Hayes also addressed the school community, recalling his decades of participation in the Thanksgiving Drive.
