Photo By 1st Lt. Daphney Black | Spc. Billy Lozanovski, a culinary specialist and volunteer, de-bones turkeys during...... read more read more
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For nearly three decades, Fort Carson culinary specialists and the Salvation Army have partnered to provide Thanksgiving meals to the Colorado Springs community. It was an event that was started by Harvest Table in 1988, serving only 75 people the first year and has only grown since its partnership with Fort Carson only a few years later.
Three hundred turkeys, over 200 pounds of mashed potatoes, 140 cases of green beans and 8 large cases of stuffing were prepared over a series of five days to provide over 3,000 meals for families in need on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2019.
About 20 volunteers, all of them culinary specialists from across the 4th Infantry Division, worked shifts around the clock to make sure the meals were ready by the holiday. While they all share a heart for service, every volunteer has a different reason for giving up their free time and paying it forward.
“The Colorado Springs community has done a lot for the military,” said CW3 David Geier, the action officer overseeing the preparation team for the Thanksgiving meal. “When we have an opportunity to give back, it’s important to do that for them also.”
Staff Sgt. Antonio David, the senior noncommissioned officer in charge of the volunteers, had been looking forward to volunteering for the event for several years.
“This year, when I had the opportunity, I took it,” said David, who hails from Haiti. “When you’re from a different country and this country accepts you with open arms, you want to do the same. I always wanted to help people.”
David believes more young Soldiers should volunteer. It shows that they are motivated and it makes them feel good.
Volunteering for this particular event feels especially good for Spc. Billy Lozanovski, a culinary specialist and volunteer who has a special connection with the Salvation Army.
For some families, the meal could be their first proper celebration of the holiday, Lozanovski said.
“I was in a low income family when I was growing up,” he said. “My first full blown Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing and cornbread was with them.”
Lozanovski said he will never forget the day. He was about seven years old and had no idea what was going to happen until they served the turkey dinner. It was at a Salvation Army Thanksgiving that he learned what Thanksgiving was all about, and it became a tradition his family shared for the next several years until they started doing better financially.
It was his experiences growing up, and his family, that taught Lozanovski the value of giving back.
“Even when they didn’t have much, they donated money to the Salvation Army,” he said. “Sometimes just five bucks a month, sometimes fifty, when they had to spare.”
Lozanovski believes that the people who volunteer are phenomenal people. He believes if you can’t volunteer money, at least volunteer some spare cash. From first hadn’t experience, it helps a lot of people and makes a difference.
“When I heard that there was an opportunity to volunteer, I didn’t mind cooking 8 hours a day helping feed people in the same situation that I was in,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 11.28.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2020 16:01 |
| Story ID: | 354107 |
| Location: | COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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