Dishing out food, cheer

Diane Alvin carefully strained and stirred a steaming pot of brown gravy yesterday, but the 52-year-old government accountant wasn’t slaving over her own stove to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.

Instead, Mrs. Alvin lent her culinary skills to the Carpenter’s Shelter in Alexandria, joining hundreds of volunteers across the Washington area who chose to emphasize the ’giving’ aspect of the annual holiday by serving those less fortunate than themselves.

“I just want to give back — help those who can’t help themselves,” said Mrs. Alvin, who prepared a Thanksgiving meal for shelter residents along with nearly 20 other members of Alexandria’s Victory Temple Missionary Baptist Church. “I’m wonderfully blessed and think those blessings should pour out on someone else.”

Members of Victory Temple have been serving at Carpenter’s for more than 10 years on Thanksgiving Day.

Yesterday, they cooked at least four turkeys, baked nearly as many hams and prepared a fitting feast for nearly 100 hungry people who would arrive soon looking for a home-cooked holiday meal.

“We believe our mission is to help the needy, so that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Deborah Lawrence, the group’s volunteer coordinator and a program manager for the Federal Aviation Administration. “It’s a rewarding experience to help someone less fortunate than yourself.”

Similar scenes of service were seen elsewhere across the Washington area yesterday.

At the Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter in Northwest, about 50 volunteers worked yesterday morning to prepare a meal for an estimated 2,000 people.

Gwendolyn Hawkins, 56, said she came to the shelter with her sister and granddaughter to spend their time a little more wisely on the holiday.

“I’m single now and don’t cook,” said Ms. Hawkins, a secretary. “It’s kind of rewarding doing something. If I didn’t, I’d be home asleep all day.”

Carolyn F. Covington, a nursing professor at Howard University, brought students from the school to help serve the homeless at the shelter.

Ms. Covington and a former colleague, Teri LaMonica, said the experience helps the students open their eyes to the community around them.

“Hopefully they realize it’s not just a one-day thing,” said Mrs. LaMonica, an assistant nursing professor at Marymount University. “This exists all day, every day.”

At the House of Imagene shelter in Northeast, about 20 volunteers helped Bishop Imagene Stewart — now in her 60s — serve a meal for the homeless that she has hosted for more than 30 years in a row.

Volunteers prepared a menu that featured Thanksgiving favorites, including green beans and yams, but also a more colloquial Turkey Day tradition — pig’s feet.

“I actually had plans to go to South Carolina for family,” said Monique Canty, a medical software consultant who stood ready to serve food outside the house. “My plans got canceled, so I figured I’d help out and share my blessings with others.”

The turnout at Mrs. Stewart’s shelter was lower than in previous years, likely stemming from the home’s move from P Street in Northwest to Sixth Street in Northeast.

Still, volunteers stood ready — ladles and spatulas in hand — on the sidewalk outside the home, even as a light rain fell in the chilly air. Hungry patrons soon trickled in, and workers began packing Styrofoam containers with food to take to the homeless and needy nearby.

Even Mrs. Stewart — a feisty preacher and advocate for the poor who once marched with civil rights leader Martin Luther King and has battled cancer — said she finds inspiration from the hard work of those who help her serve on the holiday.

“We have the same bunch of folks every year,” said Mrs. Stewart, whose Thanksgiving meals have fed thousands. “The same people come to help out, and I thank God for them.

“I tell people, ’Because you are doing all right today, doesn’t mean you’ll be doing all right tomorrow,’ ” she said. “You better help people while you’re in good health.”