To the Editor:

The reason for my letter is the large donation of the turkeys that my cousin Nick Manolis and his family from the city of Dracut, Massachusetts, distribute to our poor fellow human beings every year on Thanksgiving. This great charity started 28 years ago with 30 turkeys and this year it has exceeded 2,000. About 10,000 people had free food at the festive table on Thanksgiving, thanking God and the Manolis family! Unbelievable and yet true. Because Nick is not a very wealthy businessman, he only has a small restaurant where the whole family works along with a few employees.

Nick immigrated to America as a 7-year-old child with his parents in 1966 from a small village, Ekklisies, which is a short distance from my village, the Megaron of the Prefecture of Grevena. The first day he went to school – without knowing a word of English – he returned home hungry because he did not have the 25 cents he needed for lunch and another 10 cents for afternoon ice cream. Although very young at that time, Nick tucked that bad day away in his mind and said that when he grows up he will have money to help fellow human beings in financial need. And when he grew up and the right time came he did not forget his pledge and chose Thanksgiving for the philanthropic effort that continues and will continue with his children. During the first 13 years, all the expenses were paid by the Manolis family. Then he founded a non-profit organization called The Manolis Family Foundation and accepts donations, but again this effort costs thousands of dollars and the donations cannot cover the expenses of the Manolis family. Along with each turkey there is a bag with all the necessary edible ingredients for the festive table. Many congratulations to the Manolis family for this great charitable effort for our fellow human beings in need. And our wish is for this charitable work to continue because our fellow human beings deserve such love.

Nick, continue on, because the blessings of your late mother and my aunt follow you and do not forget the popular wise phrase that she told you, “my child, when you give with one hand, God will give you with both hands.”

Christos Tsimikas

Dracut, Massachusetts