Athens Pizza and Pasta hosted their seventh annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner this year. Their goal was to serve 800 meals. Not only did they meet their goal, but they surpassed it! With the overwhelming help and support of the community, Athens Pizza & Pasta served 892 guests. Approximately 150 meals were also sent on to the Tacoma Rescue Mission.
Bill Contoravdis, Athens Pizza and Pasta co-owner, shared the gratitude of the Contoravdis family, “A big thank you to Barbers Against Hunger for their continued partnership and help with this event. Especially Randy Simon who takes all the leftover food to the Tacoma Rescue Mission every year. To our wonderful volunteers that were serving guests, cleaning dishes, wiping tables and slicing up huge quantities of pumpkin pie, thank you. Many of you were here all day. You gave up your own time with your family and friends to help out.”
The generous donations from the Auburn community helped raise just over $10,000. Contributions helped pay for the annual free dinner. As they do every year, Athens Pizza and Pasta donated remaining funds to the Auburn Food Bank and the Valley Regional Fire Authority’s Toys for Tots drive. This year and the Auburn Police Officer’s Association to assist families in need this holiday season.
“To our loyal customers and first-time patrons that stopped in to give us a try, thank you for reaching into your pocket and donating. From a simple $1 to $1000 donation, we did it. To our local businesses that made grand donations, you made such an impact to this event. Our deepest gratitude to you all,” thanked Bill Contoravdis.
In addition to the free meal, 150 blessing bags were given out. These blessing bags contained gloves, socks, fleece caps, toiletries, and snacks. “You should have seen the smiles on the guests’ faces when they received those. It was priceless,” shared Bill Contoravdis.
“Everyone deserves a traditional hot meal on Thanksgiving Day,” continued Bill Contoravdis. “With the help of donations from supporters, we will continue our event annually. Your commitment [to] donating to this event is sincerely appreciated. Please help us spread the word for next year, as we would like to serve as many people as we possibly can.”
What a wonderful thing that you do for the public every single year. Free Thanksgiving dinner to all that come. Not to mention their wonderful menu. every other day of the week. Love it at Athens, one of my favorites for sure.
Hands down the best pizza in Auburn. Been going here since I moved here 18 yrs….great job giving back to the community, how awesome!
[…] This year the APOA provided holiday Christmas gifts for children and families at Gildo Rey, Terminal Park, and Pioneer Elementary Schools. These donations from the APOA are made possible by contributions from the community, including businesses such as Athens Pizza & Pasta. […]