Table for Lou - Keeps you In the Lou’p
Quote of the Month: “The Holiday season is the perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.” - Terry Marshall
Happy Holidays!
We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season! Thanksgiving is behind us, Hanukkah just ended and Christmas, Kwanzaa and 2024 are all right around the corner.
While the holidays are magical in many ways, they can also add a little more stress to our lives. We are pulled in many directions, between finishing up work, gifts, parties, decorations, travel and trying to get all the holiday festivities checked off the list. (Did you check it twice!?)
While many of us get time off of work and school, it’s important to remember that some of our young people depend on the school breakfast and lunch for their meals. And having loved ones in the hospital during the holidays can also add significant stress on our homes.
While we strive to provide great meals and experiences year round, the holiday season is especially important for Table for Lou’s programs. Last month, we shared a Thanksgiving meal with over 100 people. There were over a dozen people that attended who shared that if it weren’t for Table for Lou, their family would not have had Thanksgiving this year. It’s the stories and experiences we share with the kids at St. Vincent’s and the families at BJC that keep our volunteers going, even during the busy holiday season.
Table for Lou wouldn’t be possible without the help of our volunteers, but we also rely on your generosity in the form of donations. We don’t want to add more stress to your plate, but if you’d like and are able to donate- please click the link here.
Classes run about $100 a week, which teach roughly10-15 kids, and feeds many more. Thank you for your kindness and support. It not only means the world to us, but the people we are helping feed during this holiday time and year round.
November Highlights
Dinner’s on the Table - at BJC Children’s Hospital
November was another great month for our Children’s Hospital program. We continued to serve a different menu each week and we had a huge Thanksgiving meal for our families. We were so happy to be able to provide these families with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It’s been wonderful to be able to help them during a difficult time. On their last day at BJC, one of the families that we see every week stopped us to tell us just how important our Wednesday night meals have meant to them and their family. Those are the stories we love to hear and keep us coming back each and every week.
The Kids’ Table - at St. Vincent’s
As the weather gets colder, we get more and more kids looking for something to do and a way to stay warm. A lot of them joined us this month and it was definitely a fun one since we got to try one of our favorite dishes- banana pudding trifle! One of our students put it best when she said, “I love banana pudding. If everyone in the world just ate banana pudding, there would be no wars.”
For this month, we also wanted to put more emphasis on teaching about nutrition to our kids. While health related topics can come up naturally, Table for Lou decided to start bringing in posters with nutritional information about some of the key ingredients of our meals which has boosted the kid’s curiosity about food even more.
Holiday Recipe:
Looking for a quick, but easy holiday recipe that will make the people at your holiday gathering excited? Go with Peppermint Bark! It’s always a big hit and a nice sweet treat. See one of our favorite recipes here.
New Year’s Resolution Prep
Table for Lou has experienced one heck of a year! It’s been great watching our kids develop and grow, as well as our hospital families come and go. We’ve been brainstorming what 2024 is going to look like for us, so why don’t we take this opportunity to talk about New Year’s Resolutions.
If you’re looking for an idea for your resolution, we think that volunteering is a great one. It certainly makes your community a better place. For some, that can be finding a place to volunteer like Table for Lou. While we hope Table for Lou does an exceptional job teaching and feeding our community, the real magic comes from our volunteers connecting and being there for people when they need it most.
If you have more money than time, make it a goal to find a meaningful way of investing in charities or shelters or volunteer options. As I’ve said many times, the amount of benefits that comes from a $100 donation to Table for Lou is mind blowing! Just make sure to do your homework when you check out charities. Ask where your money is going and make sure their values align with your own. Outside of the options above, you could also find a family or young person to invest in. At Table for Lou we are also huge fans of buying local as well. It’s great to see your money have an impact on this community of ours!
Thank you!
Thank you for your continued support and love for Table for Lou this year. As we continue to grow, we are very much looking forward to seeing what 2024 has in store for us. Happy Holidays!