A Thanksgiving Eve tradition returned for its 51st year Wednesday: the annual Albright Community Thanksgiving dinner.Hundreds of people from across Pittsburgh’s East End gathered to share food and fellowship at the First United Methodist Church social hall on Centre Avenue.“It’s great. It’s comforting. It makes me want to stay,” Jacqueline Stewart said. “It’s a chance to gather with my family, meet new friends.”This was Stewart’s second year attending the dinner, but the tradition began years before that. The dinner started 51 years ago at Albright United Methodist Church as a Boy Scout project.“It’s a credit to the organization. To constantly do something like this for 51 years changes a lot of people’s holidays,” said Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor, who volunteers yearly.Abass Kamara has been involved since birth. “Albright United Methodist Church is the church I was born and baptized in, where my parents got married. To carry that legacy on and try to do right by those folks means a tremendous amount to me,” he said.One hundred volunteers cooked and served the food. The attendees came from all walks of life. “The reality for me is that there’s a lot of tough times in this community,” he said. “To have a moment where we can give folks a chance to have a good meal, a chance to be treated well and a chance to have some fellowship makes it one of the most important parts of my year.”“That’s what we do as Pittsburghers,” O’Connor said. “People from various backgrounds are here to help. Around the holidays, there are people who need that love and support that they might not have. That’s why events like this are so special.”
PITTSBURGH —
A Thanksgiving Eve tradition returned for its 51st year Wednesday: the annual Albright Community Thanksgiving dinner.
Hundreds of people from across Pittsburgh’s East End gathered to share food and fellowship at the First United Methodist Church social hall on Centre Avenue.
“It’s great. It’s comforting. It makes me want to stay,” Jacqueline Stewart said. “It’s a chance to gather with my family, meet new friends.”
This was Stewart’s second year attending the dinner, but the tradition began years before that. The dinner started 51 years ago at Albright United Methodist Church as a Boy Scout project.
“It’s a credit to the organization. To constantly do something like this for 51 years changes a lot of people’s holidays,” said Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor, who volunteers yearly.
Abass Kamara has been involved since birth.
“Albright United Methodist Church is the church I was born and baptized in, where my parents got married. To carry that legacy on and try to do right by those folks means a tremendous amount to me,” he said.
One hundred volunteers cooked and served the food. The attendees came from all walks of life.
“The reality for me is that there’s a lot of tough times in this community,” he said. “To have a moment where we can give folks a chance to have a good meal, a chance to be treated well and a chance to have some fellowship makes it one of the most important parts of my year.”
“That’s what we do as Pittsburghers,” O’Connor said. “People from various backgrounds are here to help. Around the holidays, there are people who need that love and support that they might not have. That’s why events like this are so special.”