Cimarron-Memorial High School hosts Thanksgiving meal for families in need

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, salad and pumpkin pie -- Lois Bloomquist, 5, and her 4-year-old brother Dylan would not have had any of it on Thanksgiving if not for the help of their local schools.

Hundreds of homeless schoolchildren and their families from Clark County School District's Performance Zone 3 received a meal Nov. 24 at Cimarron-Memorial High School, 2301 N. Tenaya Way. More than 600 families from the zone's 28 schools were invited to attend the school district's inaugural Thanksgiving Dinner.

Lois and Dylan, students at Fyfe Empowerment School, 4101 W. Bonanza Road, live with their parents, Earl Bloomquist and Alyssa Zaudke, at the Budget Suites, 2219 N. Rancho Drive.

Bloomquist lost his job at the Las Vegas Hilton in 2007, the week after Thanksgiving. The family subsequently lost its Henderson house and survives on Zaudke's $10-per-hour wages as a clerk at Citibank.

"We appreciate it a lot," Zaudke said of the meal.

"It's been rough," Bloomquist added. "This is very cool."

Kids also could participate in arts and crafts, bingo and karaoke in other rooms around the school. Upon leaving the event, families could take bags of canned goods, sanitary items and children's books.

Planning for the event began in July when Cimarron-Memorial principal Joseph Caruso approached the principals from the middle and elementary schools in his zone.

"People often feel that the homeless are only downtown and the area surrounding it," said Caruso, whose Summerlin-area school has more than 200 documented homeless students, though he thinks that figure is lower than reality. "That's not the case. Homelessness is next door. We forget that there's more people than we know."

About 300 volunteers -- mostly staff members from the 28 schools -- helped out at the event.

Each school was responsible for one part of the meal, and several school district food service workers helped prepare it all in the kitchen. Families did not even have to wait in line. They were seated and served at their tables.

"It's just been a really positive experience," Caruso said. "I'm really impressed. ... I think it's nice that everybody's involved. We spend nine months out of the year with these kids. This is our extended family."

Caruso expects the dinner to happen again next year at his school. He hopes to be able to include more schools, too, and eventually make it a districtwide tradition.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.