Every year, the Lake Quinault School District hosts a Thanksgiving meal at the school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for children and families in the tight-knit community.

COVID-19 put a stop to that tradition this year, but determined school staff, community leaders and Save the Children colleagues created a powerful solution — instead of gathering for a meal at school, bring the ingredients to make a Thanksgiving meal at home to all the District’s families.

Barb Marshall, the school’s Home and Career teacher, coordinated the effort, working to purchase and store all of the ingredients, and then sort and organize into family kits so district volunteers and Save the Children staff could make personal deliveries to more than 100 families in the area.

On Monday, volunteers safely delivered all the fixings — a turkey and a ham, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie and whipped cream — to the homes of 125 families from Queets to Humptulips, benefiting more than 250 children.

“2020 has proven to be tremendously difficult, but time and time again I’m so impressed by the commitment of our school district staff and Save the Children to ensure kids and families have what they need,” said Lake Quinault Superintendent Keith Samplawski. “I’m grateful that, through collaboration and generosity, we continue our tradition of providing a holiday meal to our families.”

“In this season of giving, it was very humbling to deliver Thanksgiving meals right to a family’s doorstep,” said Amee Barlet, Save the Children’s deputy director of Washington programs. “It was so evident that we weren’t just filling bellies, but nurturing souls.”

photos COURTESY SAVE THE CHILDREN Lake Quinault School Home and Career teacher Barb Marshall, left, and Save the Children Early Childhood Education Coordinator Marisol Castillo load up Thanksgiving meals before delivering them to children and families in the Lake Quinault Community.

Save the Children Early Childhood Education Coordinator Marisol Castillo helps deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in the Lake Quinault community.