With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the Saint Anselm College community remembers to give back. Although there are many ways Anselmians do this every day, one important tradition the college continues is the Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive.

Just today, Campus Ministry announced that their total number of baskets rose from 49 to 115. This annual event brings all of us together to share and make the Thanksgiving days of Manchester community a little more special.

The Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive was introduced by Sr. Pauline Lucier, C.S.C., who served as a Campus Minister here at the college from 2002 until her untimely death from cancer in May 2009. Sr. Pauline is remembered in gratitude for her example of “faith in action”; her memory remains a part of campus-wide events such as Relay for Life and the Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive, and scholarships in her name are given to students to embody her passion for service.

The entire campus community comes together for this event. Students often assemble baskets with their friends, roommates, sports teams, or clubs, and nearly every office on campus contributes one.

For the drive, the college community assembles baskets that should provide a Thanksgiving meal for six to eight people. Campus Ministry recommends they include the following: a basket, turkey, stuffing, vegetables, gravy, and dessert fixings.

In the past, many of the donors have gone above and beyond with the baskets. This is not only allowed but also encouraged. Items included in previous years include greeting cards signed by the donor(s), tablecloths, napkins, balloons, centerpieces, utensils, bottled beverages, gift cards, and favorite family recipes.

The baskets are to be delivered to the Abbey Church between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. of Monday, Nov. 21. All are welcome to the Blessing ritual that will take place afterward, following the drop-off. Once the Blessing Ritual ends, those with trucks or large vehicles are needed to deliver the baskets to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Manchester, N.H. If you would like to help deliver, contact Campus Ministry.

In the past six years, the Saint Anselm Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive has helped Catholic Charities feed Thanksgiving dinner to over 500 families. Among these families are refugees, poor, and participants in The Greater Manchester AIDS Project. This event could not subsist without the outpouring of generosity and support from the Saint Anselm College community.

This story has been updated.