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Helping Hands
Students-athletes from Woodstock Academy helped distribute Thanksgiving food baskets for TEEG last week. Courtesy photo.
THOMPSON — Student-athletes from Woodstock Academy assisted in preparing and distributing Thanksgiving food baskets as part of the Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group (TEEG) Thanksgiving Day food distribution program.
Assisting from Woodstock Academy were juniors, Justin Cutting, Abby LaMarre and Brett Graveline, along with seniors Julia Low, Allison Rich, Paige Carito, Molly Thompson, Peter Belmont, Harley Blodgett, Nathan Giamundo, John Vangel, and Mackenzie Papuga. The students were part of an effort to feed over 250 families for Thanksgiving this year. Carl Asikainen, WA Class of 1989, serves as the Junior Varsity Soccer Coach at Woodstock Academy and works for TEEG, coordinated the Thanksgiving Food Drive.
Woodstock Academy Assistant Athletic Director Ann Rathbone started the Academy’s participation in this event last year after having a conversation with Asikainen. After learning about the program, she thought it would be a great way for the student-athletes from Woodstock Academy to get involved and give back to the community. Rathbone said, “The last part of our journey was to deliver to our elderly at Roxbury Village here in Woodstock . . . these people are all alone and one woman dressed to the ‘nines,’ totally cute in her festive red jacket greeted us, and then proceeded to break down, saying she would not have had a Thanksgiving unless we stopped by. I stepped in and said, ‘Group hug!’ and we delivered.”