Papeleo made sure each plate was full
NEWBURGH – This Thanksgiving, members of the city’s local business community, partnered with the Sacred Heart Center of the St. Theresa of Calcutta parish Thursday, to bring a hot dinner to hundreds of less fortunate members of the community for free.
This was one of many other charitable Thanksgiving Dinner events, occurring throughout the MidHudson region.
The dinner was funded solely by Papaleo’s Auto Body and Vesuvio’s Ristorante, who also catered, cooked and served the dinner, rather than through a food bank or other charitable organization.
Although it was their first year putting on the dinner, a volunteer staff of approximately 8-10 people prepared a hot dinner of turkey, yams, potatoes, stuffing, rolls, various deserts and more for 300 plus people, with 200 people being the serving goal.
Owner of Papaleo’s Auto Body, Ben Papaleo and his brother-in-law Pete Cracolici of Vesuvio’s were reluctant to say how much they had invested into the dinner but said they had been planning to serve a hot Thanksgiving dinner to the community for some time because they noticed there was a need for it. They said the main focus was to give back to the community that has been so good to them.
“We’re thankful for the community and we just want to give back to the community,” said Papaleo. “This is just a way to give back. The community has been great to both of us. We’ve been a long time here in business, and having success, and it’s time to give back.”
Papaleo and Cracolici said they want to make this an annual event and will hopefully serve hundreds of Newburgh residents this time around next year.
