Every year on Thanksgiving, the Aguirre family of North Denver gives their thanks by giving.
For 21 years, the Aguirre family, owners of Rosa Linda's Restaurant at 33rd Avenue and Tejon Street, have offered free meals to homeless and senior citizens on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve.This year, the family plans to feed an estimated 2,000 people on Thanksgiving alone.
A lot of preparation and coordination goes into serving a meal that size -- especially from a kitchen not much bigger than some people's walk-in closet. "It gets really chaotic in the kitchen," explains Oscar Aguirre. "We have about 12 people in here that day."
The family could not do it alone. The entire week preceeding Thanksgiving, volunteers from Johnson & Wales University jump in to lend a helping hand. Students and staff members alike shred the turkey, chop the onions and peel the potatoes. Then, on Thanksgiving itself, they volunteer in the kitchen and delivering meals to senior citizens around the metro area.
"Everybody has a different experience from the day," explains Virgilio Aguirre, who started the tradition with his wife Rosa Linda two decades ago. "My daughter has one, my son one and my wife another, because of the different people they contact. And it is the same for the volunteers. They get a great experience, too."
"On Thanksgiving, the whole city is working together to help."
Virgilio describes this as his opportunity to give back. "I was very poor once. I had nothing," he says. "I understand their plight because I have walked in their shoes." The greatest reward from the day, he explains, is seeing somebody who the family fed one year, come back in to support the cause. He relays the story of a homeless man who they fed one year coming back to donate four turkeys the next.
As word spreads and the annual event continues to grow, people come from around the metro area. They fill the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day and sit underneath tents in the parking lot.
"This is our way of giving thanks," Virgilio adds with apensive grin.
To see a video journal of the Thanksgiving dinner at Rosa Linda's, log on to www.RockyMountainNews.com and watch Sonya Doctorian's video documentary of the event, its history and preparation.The video will go live on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24.