Giving thanks, giving back to community
Sir Guy Carleton high’s 25th-annual turkey dinner feeds more than 1,000
Audrey Nakogee walked into the community Thanksgiving dinner held in the cafeteria of Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School on Sunday and flagged down a passing student. “Where’s the lineup?” she inquired.
“No lineup,” said the student volunteer. “We serve you.” Nakogee was quickly ushered to a table and asked what she’d like to drink. Within minutes, she was delivered a steaming plate of turkey and all the trimmings.
Nakogee was among more than 1,000 people served at the annual turkey dinner organized by the indefatigable Ed Mahfouz, a retired teacher. It’s the 25th year he’s rounded up students, teachers and other volunteers to serve a Thanksgiving meal.
Some diners, like Nakogee, were looking for company. “It’s my first time here,” she said, looking around the cafeteria of the school her son attended. He’s 18 now and just moved back to live for a year with his dad at the Fort Albany reserve on James Bay, where Nakogee was born and raised.
“First time for res life for him,” she said. “So far, he likes it. I’m by myself, so I decided to come here,” Nakogee explained. “I really don’t have family here (in Ottawa).”
Mahfouz said many diners appreciate the community feeling of the dinner. “It’s not only food. Sometimes people, they need companionship. Maybe they are alone. This is a celebration for Thanksgiving.”
Mahfouz knows what that’s like. He arrived in Canada as an 18-yearold from Lebanon in 1970 with $10 in his pocket.
He studied education, and taught high school math and science for 20 years. These days, he’s a supply teacher.
“I’m an immigrant,” he said. “I always promised myself, if I made it, maybe one day I’m going to give back to the community, I’m going to give back to Canada. And I think we are blessed with what we have ... I realized this is a good way to show how much we care about the community.”
Mahfouz started the first Thanksgiving dinner in 1991, serving 74 meals. This year he was assisted by a squad of more than 100 volunteer students, teachers and others. Students from several high schools also collected food and clothing to distribute.
Brayden Kluke, 18, was washing dishes, clearing tables and serving meals. He graduated from Sir Guy last year. It’s his fifth year volunteering at the dinner. “I like it,” Kluke said. “I used to be one of them. I used to be poor.”
Kluke doesn’t have a lot of good Thanksgiving memories from his childhood. “Bad things happened,” he explained.
“I know what it feels like to have nothing, basically.”
These days, Kluke is an apprentice mechanic. He’s doing OK and figured he could help others.
“I thought I’d give back, some kindness.”