By Siyan Chan (Class of 2021)

Photography & Film by Rachel Blythe and Thuy Nguyen (Class of 2022)

Video edited by Breanna Cao (Class of 2022)

In celebration of Thanksgiving, the students from Developing Virtue Girls School decided to spread the joy of giving to the community by preparing a warm meal for the homeless and community members in Ukiah. On November 23, 2019, several students set out in the afternoon to start the food preparation at Plowshares, a local community center that provides homeless services and Meals on Wheels for those in need.

 After arriving and unloading the materials, everyone worked together in washing the vegetables, cutting the vegetables, and boiling the water.

Others helped to decorate the place by hanging up colorful streamers and balloons, providing a beautiful setting for the performances later on. When it was finally time for dinner, the food was brought out as the servers stationed themselves behind the counters, ready to serve the mouth-watering dishes.

Door ushers welcomed the guests as they entered the dining room, exchanging smiles and warm greetings. As everyone settled down, the emcees introduced themselves and the performances — Chinese Orchestra and Western Ensemble — began.

As the ambient music filled the air, the students chatted with the guests while enjoying the delicious food.

Time passed by quickly, and soon, the event came to an end with the students handing out gift bags to all the guests. This cheerful event was a great way to spread the warmth and joy of this Thanksgiving season to everyone.

Special thanks to Plowshares.