DePaul Law students bring Thanksgiving to Uptown soup kitchen

Kyle Brennan ('14) prepares food at the St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen.

This year, a group of 20 law students helped celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday by preparing and serving dinner to those in need.

The law students volunteered at St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen as part of the Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative’s November 2012 Donate-a-Day. DePaul’s Law Students for Reproductive Justice co-sponsored the event. Professor Len Cavise and his wife Susan Kaplan also volunteered.    

The volunteer day lasted from 3:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. During this time DePaul’s volunteers were busy preparing and assisting with all stages of the dinner.

Before guests arrived, the volunteers undertook a variety of culinary responsibilities: chopping vegetables and meats for the soup, setting the tables, making sandwiches and tossing salad. Once dinner was ready to serve, a supervisor from the soup kitchen discussed the kitchen's background, inspiration and mission. Students talked with him and reflected on their reasons for volunteering at the soup kitchen.

When the guests arrived, students personally delivered bowls of soup, refilled their beverages, and distributed napkins or utilities.

Christina Kuklinski ('15) lends a hand in the kitchen.

Afterwards, they prepared and passed out “to-go” containers with the leftover soup and cleaned up.

Many volunteers said that they enjoyed their experience at the soup kitchen. Second-year student Desalina Williams said, “I think that the Donate-a-Day gave the students an opportunity to interact with the community in a meaningful way. It was a great way to bring in the holiday season.”   

Thanks to the students’ hard work and commitment to service, PBCSI’s November Donate-a-Day was a success and touched the lives of the guests and the volunteers who served them.