Gifts of love

Knights of Columbus coordinate effort that delivers Thanksgiving meals to more than 500 people in Camas-Washougal

December 3, 2013 12:00 am

News

Volunteers Lora Rollins (center) and her daughter, Isabella, 12, talk to Al Schmid, who leads the annual coordination of the Knights of Columbus Thanksgiving dinner preparation and delivery. Schmid, 75, has been participating in the effort for 29 years. "He is very humble," Lora Rollins said of Schmid. "He does so much. He is always there to lend a hand if you need it. I just can't say enough about him." Look for additional photos from the event at www.camaspostrecord.com.

Members of the Knights of Columbus, including Ernest Pittaway (front) and Michael Rollins (center), packed the kitchen at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on Wednesday night. The group spent several hours carving more than 50 turkeys that were donated from individuals and non-profit organizations. The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's service organization, reaches out in other ways too. Each winter, they distribute 20 to 25 cords of wood to families in need. The wood is donated by private property owners as well as local school districts and city governments, when the wood becomes available on their properties.

A small army of men and women crowded the kitchen in the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on Wednesday night. Many carved piping hot, golden brown turkeys, fresh from the oven. Others took to chopping celery for stuffing or straining broth for homemade gravy.On a weekly basis, the church basement is the site of post-mass gatherings where coffee and doughnuts are served. But each year on the day before Thanksgiving, it is taken over by members of the Knights of Columbus and other volunteers who use it as a home base for preparing and assembling hundreds of meals delivered the following day to Camas-Washougal residents in need.

For the past 29 years, Al Schmid, 75, has led the coordination of this annual effort, which actually starts with logistical planning — securing donations and volunteers — in early October.

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