Devyn Dellafosse, 7, was having a hard time finding the energy she needed Saturday morning and understandably so. She spent most of Friday night battling a fever. Her mom, Stacy, even gave her the option to spend the day in bed, but the youngster turned it down. Instead, she chose to head to the Calcasieu Council on Aging at 8 a.m. with the rest of her family to help participate in the annual Thanksgiving food basket deliveries. The event is a partnership between Phillips 66 and the CCOA focused on providing for the elderly throughout the region.

“I told her she should stay home, but she just really wanted to go,” Stacy said. “They see that it’s the season to be thankful for what you have, and I think this is a great opportunity for them to give back.”

Along with an under-the-weather 7-year-old, Stacy was accompanied by her husband, Damon, and their other daughter, 17-year-old Deja. The group was one of many that would end up delivering 350 baskets to people in Lake Charles, Westlake, Sulphur, Carlyss, Starks, Vinton, DeQuincy, Bell City, Hayes, Holmwood and Iowa. The individual elderly recipients were chosen by the CCOA from its Meals on Wheels program.

“It’s just a great way to give back to the community, and it allows us to put a smile on somebody’s face and be thankful,” Damon said.

For most of the morning, before volunteers left to deliver the goods, the CCOA lobby was packed with people eager to get to work. Steve Geiger, Phillips 66 general manager, was one of those people. He spent a few minutes reflecting on past events and how the effort grows each year.

“We always have a good turnout, and I think it helps that once people do it the first time, they want to come back and do it again. Word of mouth is a great thing,” Geiger said. “The best part about this is when you finish and you just handed out that last bird, you feel great about what you did during the day.”

Tables throughout the room were covered with bags filled with classic Thanksgiving dinner items. One set of bags had things like corn, sweet peas, corn bread mix, rice, chicken broth, yams and cranberry sauce. Another set of bags had frozen chickens, dressing mix and dessert. Each household would receive one of each bag.

Carol Collins, director of public relations for Phillips 66, reminded the volunteers how the idea is to spread holiday cheer to an important segment of the parish’s population.

“Some of the residents, you may be the one and only smiling face they’re going to see today,” Collin said. “Take the time and opportunity to express some holiday greetings to them and some of them may want you to spend a few moments with them visiting. If you have the time, do that. It makes a world of difference in their lives, and I’m sure it will impact your life in a positive way as well.”

Jimmy Hall and Dot Hall both said they were veterans of the event. They agreed that with each passing time, the experience has brought them closer to a group of people in their community they rarely get to see. It all starts, Dot said, with each volunteer making up their mind about helping those in need.

“I think it’s an individual choice to be able to help people. I think when we realize how much God has blessed us, then we want to be able to be a blessing to others and to help,” Dot said. “This is an opportunity to not only help but be able to meet people that need it, especially the elderly because we’re all going to get to that age at some point.”(Rick Hickman/American Press)

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