Dinner with fixings at ‘Chateau de Cimarron’
It wasn’t your normal Thanksgiving meal for the needy, but so much more.
Hostesses greeted every one of the 960 guests at the door and seated them. Waiters promptly brought food and drinks at request. Seconds were encouraged.
Transportation to Cimarron-Memorial High School’s cafeteria was even provided to families Thursday by three buses making the rounds at 30 Las Vegas Valley schools every half hour.
Principal Joe Caruso told his volunteers to do everything just like a restaurant.
“Today, it’s Chateau de Cimarron. You see why this is important,” he said as a family of nine sat at a table, the youngest girls wearing pink dresses. Earlier in the day, an older couple came in primped in a suit and dress. “Everybody deserves a nice meal.”
Pulling it off wasn’t easy.
About 300 volunteers made it possible along with the cooperation of the Clark County School District, which allowed the school and buses to be used. But the event and transportation came at no cost to the district, Caruso said. The 30 participating schools, which invited students’ families to attend, were each given a food item to collect.
And collect they did, providing 72 turkeys, 195 boxes of stuffing, 102 pumpkin and apple pies, potatoes “up the wazoo,” and more, Caruso tallied.
By noon, 10 times as many meals had been served as last Thanksgiving when Caruso started the event. But last year, he didn’t have buses and the Regional Transportation Commission providing 200 bus passes.
The school may be at the edge of Summerlin, but almost 60 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, meaning their families’ income is low enough to put them in poverty. Across Clark County, one out of two students live in poverty, which is why the buses made the difference this year, Caruso said. Families are hungry but stuck.
Many Clark County schools gave frozen turkeys and all the trimmings to students’ families earlier this week. Thiriot Elementary School, near Harmon Avenue and Decatur Boulevard, provided the holiday ingredients to 100 families.
Brayan Ferreyra, 12, never had a full-plated Thanksgiving meal until Thursday, he said. Sometimes, the family won’t celebrate at all. But he, his sister, mother and a friend were all sitting at a Cimarron table at 1 p.m. stuffed, skipping dessert. His friend, Ruben Mejicano, said he’ll be back next year.
“It’s worth it for the turkey,” he said.
And it’s worth it just to volunteer for Mike and Susan Lyons.
“It’s more important to give than get,” Susan said.
It’s in their nature, Mike said, noting that they give blood regularly and both teach math at Gibson Middle School.
“It’s just who we are,” he said.
And educating children isn’t just about teaching the subjects, argued Caruso, whose high school is one of only three in the valley with a homeless center on site that provides meals to students on Friday to last the weekend, clothes and supplies.
“A lot of people don’t think this way,” Caruso said. “They say, ‘It’s your job to educate.’ ”
But students who are hungry or sick won’t learn. And schools don’t just teach math, science and writing but how to be contributing, caring members of society, he argued.
For that reason, he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“I have 25 more years before I retire, and I’m going to do this every Thanksgiving until then.”
Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.
