The kitchen hummed with the buzz of chopping, peeling and mixing as six students bustled around the house of Gail Riina, the Lutheran chaplain at Hendricks Chapel. They shared stories and joked about their classes as they moved between the kitchen and dining room.

The Thanksgiving spirit of giving back was palpable.

On Thursday, Nov. 14, six students volunteered to help commemorate Lutheran Campus Ministry’s 100th anniversary at Syracuse University. To celebrate, the ministry and the SU Lutheran Student Association decided to challenge themselves to make 100 pies during the course of a little more than a year and to distribute them to the community.

Riina held this event at her home to help reach this goal. Now they hope to deliver the pies to people in the local community in time for Thanksgiving.

“It’s very important to say thanks and celebrate,” Riina said. “I think gratitude and giving thanks is the very easy and simple secret to happiness.”

The team of six student volunteers almost completed the anniversary challenge, narrowly missing their goal by eight pies. Previous baking events to help reach this goal have been held at the Brewster, Boland and Brockway dorms and at various industry-sized church kitchens in the Syracuse community.

Riina and Syracuse resident Donna Le’Cartel distributed 16 of the pies made on Thursday to the community during the weekend. Le’Cartel knows firsthand how hard it can sometimes be living paycheck to paycheck, as she has gone through expensive chemotherapy in the past year to treat her breast cancer.

“I feel like I’ve had it all,” Le’Cartel said. “I’ve been in the situation where I’ve had money but, because of numerous hospital bills, it’s become more than my income can afford. You only have a certain income coming in, and you have to choose and cut where you can. I’ve always been a pretty frugal person, but it’s coming to a point where I don’t have anywhere more to cut.”

Regardless, Le’Cartel makes it a point to help out the community in whatever way she can. One of those ways is helping Riina distribute the pies to those in need.

“I’ve always been that sort of giving person,” Le’Cartel said. “It’s what makes my heart sing and what makes me get up in the morning, no matter how bad my situation is. If I can help someone else, even one person a day, a week or a month, then for me the world is a better place.”

The pies were delivered locally to many people in need, but some key recipients included a Purple Heart recipient, a man who supports his family mainly through his garage sales and other community members who, like Le’Cartel, despite going through their own hard times, try to make it a point to help out their community on a regular basis.

Le’Cartel said there was a definite disconnect between the SU and Syracuse community, and she hopes more students will be able to help out their neighbors in need.

“It gives students a more hands-on experience rather than book learning and general education,” Le’Cartel said. “When you actually see it and see the people, you can see the devastation in some people’s eyes, and you just kind of know that they’re deserving people but just kind of down on their luck.”

In addition to helping neighbors, president of SULSA and freshman political science major Chris Pulliam hopes the pies will also help the volunteers reflect on the effect their work has on those in need, especially around the holiday season.

Said Pulliam: “Thanksgiving is a great time to take a step back, give back to your community and realize and recognize that you’re very blessed.”

Published on November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am

Contact Margaret: mglin@syr.edu