1,000 Turkeys Bought With Recording-Breaking Donation Drive At Sacred Heart

FAIRFIELD, CT — Sacred Heart University students, faculty, alumni and other community members raised a record amount of money this year to purchase 1,000 holiday turkeys for hungry families.

Sacred Heart's student government hosts an annual turkey drive before Thanksgiving, uniting the school by giving back to others.

Donations totaled more than $25,000, and 1,000 turkeys were purchased thanks to a partnership with alumnus Harry Garafalo, his nephew, James Garafalo, and ShopRite of Milford. Half of the turkeys were handed out at a Thanksgiving distribution event at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Bridgeport, and the rest will be given out Dec. 11 at Wade’s Dairy in Bridgeport, which is owned by Sacred Heart alumnus Doug Wade.

"I think everyone wanted to give a little more this year, especially after last year’s hardships," student coordinator Liv Chaponis, who is the class of 2022 president and is studying neuroscience on a pre-med track, said in a university news release.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and the distribution at St. Charles, volunteer programs and service learning, and campus ministry held a food drive. At the end of the drive, more than 1,000 items were collected and then blessed at the university’s annual interfaith service. The nonperishable goods were divvied up and packaged with a turkey, ready to feed a hungry family.

On the chilly Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving, dozens of student-volunteers gathered at St. Charles to pass out the packages. SHU Dining’s food truck also came by the church to provide hot chocolate and cookies.

Chaponis and fellow student-coordinator Bella Scarmack said they were impressed by the amount of donations that came in and were pleased Sacred Heart could help so many people. They were so excited they couldn’t sleep the night before the distribution and said they wanted the day to go as well as possible.

“It was really awesome to watch the thermometer on the fundraising page just continue to go up and up throughout the month,” said Scarmack, a junior studying accounting and management, and vice president of Sacred Heart's student government senate, in the news release.

The community can continue to donate to the turkey drive and help families throughout the holiday season by visiting the drive’s fundraising page.