East County families give a helping hand on Thanksgiving

Out-of-Door Academy student Bianca Tengerdy loves Thanksgiving morning.

But, instead of turning on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, for the last three years, she and her family have headed to All Faiths Food Bank, where they serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal to the homeless.

When Bianca learned she and her family would be in Colorado this year to celebrate the 80th birthday of Bianca’s paternal grandmother, the 14-year-old was determined to see their tradition continue.

So this year, the Tengerdy family will be serving a Thanksgiving meal in Colorado, instead.

“I knew it had become something I should do every Thanksgiving,” says Bianca, who found online a soup kitchen at which her family could volunteer. “I knew the tradition had to carry on.”

Bianca, with her parents, Tom and Roberta, and brother, Laszlo, say they can’t wait to continue their family tradition. Their family friends, James and Andrew Gaines, who helped at All Faiths last Thanksgiving, will be traveling to Colorado with the Tengerdys and helping serve at the soup kitchen there, as well.

“They’re hooked,” Tom says of the kids’ involvement.

The Tengerdy family says giving back to the community is a value they’ve always had. However, their involvement with serving Thanksgiving meals to the homeless, specifically, coincided with their move to Sarasota.

“When we moved here, the economy had changed,” Roberta says. “We wanted to know how to get involved. We hadn’t seen that many homeless people before. We knew there had to be a soup kitchen somewhere.”

For the first two years, Tom, Bianca and Laszlo served, while Roberta got their own family meal ready. But last year, all four waited tables.

“I was teary-eyed the whole time,” Roberta says. “It was (amazing to me) how we could all come together in one room and have a meal together. It’s very grounding, especially at a time when there’s so much uncertainty.”

Bianca agrees the experience has further taught her to live out her parent’s mantra: be grateful, not greedy.

“I realized how much I really do have, even though I look around and may not have as much as others,” Bianca says.

Tom agrees.

“That’s what Thanksgiving has become for us,” Tom says. “It now has meaning other than food, feeding our (stomachs). It’s all about being grateful.”

BEYOND BLESSED
Lakewood Ranch resident David Wollard looks right at home as he sets up tables in a side yard in the Pride Park community.

Within minutes, he and other volunteers from Bayside Community Church are busy greeting neighborhood families as they make their way toward the workstation and prepare for the morning’s activities.

On the tables, Bayside’s volunteers begin sorting through canned meat, bread items and canned goods, and bagging them for distribution in the community, while neighborhood children join in to help.

“I just really value the idea of helping meet people’s physical needs,” says Wollard, who is part of Bayside’s Feed My Sheep small group. “I feel there’s a need for that in our community.

“It’s like you don’t want to stop,” he says of serving others. “It’s a great feeling to see the benefit in people’s lives, and knowing it makes a difference.”

For Wollard, serving others isn’t just a task he checks off a to-do list. It’s a way of life that has transformed his way of thinking and made him appreciate what he has even more.

And this Thanksgiving season, Wollard is especially thankful. After losing his spouse to a heart condition in January, Wollard had hoped 2011 would offer some comfort as it marched on. And indeed, it has.

When he met fellow Bayside member Cindy Agner in March because of their mutual support of Bayside’s 24/7 School of Ministry a program, neither guessed they’d be doing ministry together for the rest of their lives.

But, the couple will be married Dec. 11.

“I’m so thankful for so much peace in my life,” Agner says, smiling. “I’ve never had peace like this before. I get so (excited) seeing lives changed (through the programs we serve). I’m just beyond blessed.”

SIMPLE PLEASURES
Tara Preserve resident Don Hodson has learned the simplest things in life can bring the greatest joy.
A retired barber, the 66-year-old now spends two days a week volunteering at the Community Coalition on Homelessness’ Bill Galvano One Stop Center in Bradenton, where something as simple as a haircut can help someone find a job or simply face another day of uncertainty. Almost since the center opened in April 2009, Hodson has served as the center’s resident barber.

“It felt like it was the right thing to do,” Hodson says. “I offered the skills that I have.

“I enjoy doing it,” he says. “I get to meet people and talk with them. I’ve met some very nice people there who are clients. I think of them as my friends.”

Hodson’s desire to help others in need came to the forefront 12 years ago, after he suffered a heart attack and nearly died.

Following his recovery, he went back to work, but later took an opportunity to retire.

He learned about Our Daily Bread soup kitchen while involved with the Lakewood Ranch-based Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Community’s Peace and Justice Committee. When the organization moved into the One Stop Center, Hodson toured the new facility.

“The one thing missing was a barber,” he says.

Two weeks later, he began volunteering his expertise.

Although Hodson admits he was, at first, slightly leery of working with the homeless, because of preconceived notions of what it would be like, he says he was surprised to see most of them were just like his clients back in Rhode Island, both in cleanliness and character.

“I feel like I was given extra time to do things, so that’s what I do,” Hodson says. “I feel like the services I offer, besides making me feel good, I think they make the people (getting them) feel good, too.”

“They don’t stand out as homeless people as much,” he says. “They look like everybody else. It helps them get jobs. It improves their lives and it doesn’t cost me too much — just a little time and a little effort.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].