Volunteers, staff at Pitt serve 2,800 hot meals to those in need at annual Christmas event

Cyril Lucas doesn’t tend to cook family feasts on Christmas morning. The retired Air Force veteran, who grew up in Braddock and McKees­port, has no children, and none of his relatives live in the Pittsburgh area.

But Lucas wasn’t among an estimated 19 million Americans who spent Christmas alone Monday.

About 8 a.m., he hopped on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s 71 bus to Oakland, where he walked to the University of Pittsburgh’s Litchfield Towers residence hall. There, for the second year in a row, he broke bread with a different kind of family: hundreds of Pittsburghers celebrating Christmas by grabbing a hot meal, along with a side of holiday camaraderie.

“I like everything here,” said a beaming Lucas, 72, of Bloomfield, as he dug into a plate filled with lasagna and some holiday staples. “I’m one of those people who is by myself. There are a lot of us in the population. But, here, there’s a sense that we all get a victory on this special day.”

A survey by Online-­Solitaire.com indicated nearly 645,000 Pennsylvanians were among those in the U.S. who expected to be alone on Christmas.

Pitt staffers and throngs of volunteers were on pace Monday to serve 2,800 holiday meals during the 18th annual Christmas Day at Pitt, nearly 600 of them to people like Lucas who visited the bustling Fifth Avenue cafeteria. Local groups also collaborated with Pitt to distribute winter coats and piles of wrapped children’s gifts.

“This is part of our culture at Pitt,” said Jamie Ducar, who works in Pitt’s Office of Engagement and Community Affairs. “We have a lot of frequent guests, people from the Oakland area and people who come from wherever they may be.”

“Even after 18 years, there’s still more people to reach.”

Ducar grew up in New York’s Westchester County and moved to Pittsburgh 20 years ago to attend Carnegie Mellon University. She joined the Pitt staff in 2017 and has been helping lead the Christmas Day event ever since.

For Ducar, like many, the event is a family affair. Her sons, ages 2 and 5, planned to visit their Mom on Monday. In 2019, Ducar brought her elderly grandmother to work the entrance as a greeter.

“It was one of the best Christmases she’d ever had,” she laughed.

A tradition of its own

Alezjah Fultz grew up in the nearby Hill District and started coming to Pitt for its Christmas meals about 10 years ago with her grandmother. This year, for the first time, Fultz brought her boyfriend and her three kids, ages 1, 2 and 5. They hoped to go home with three gifts, one for each child.

Isaiah Lopez is a practicing Muslim but said, religion aside, it’s not tough to get warmed up by Christmas cheer.

“I always partake, especially for the kids — I’m not going to stop them from experiencing life,” said Lopez, 27, who was born in Pittsburgh, moved to his family’s native South Africa, then boomeranged back to Pittsburgh 10 years ago.

“For a first-time person being here, it’s impressive, this is real impressive,” he added.

“The food is so good,” said Fultz, 20. “He’s full. They’re all full. This is just a nice little get-together.”

Beth Elinoff, a Pitt research coordinator, grew up Jewish in Stanton Heights. She started volunteering here on Christmas Day 10 years ago as a mitzvah, or good deed. The Squirrel Hill mother worked on Monday morning alongside her two sons — Michael, 20, and Andrew, 17 — by handing out rolls to people selecting the components of their Christmas meal.

“I come here to give back,” said Elinoff, 50. “I’ve got to lead by example.”

Nearby, volunteers James Howard and Ken Eckenrode helped distribute cuts of hot roast beef and mashed potatoes.

“I love doing outreach like this,” said Eckenrode, 56, a landlord who lives in Cranberry.

“I look forward to this every Christmas,” added Howard, 66, of Plum.

Volunteer Ginny Dietrich bore the unglamorous distinction of working Monday morning as a “trash runner,” essentially picking up discarded food and trays. She was smiling, however, from ear to ear.

“People are cheerful,” said Dietrich, 71, of Friendship, who retired in 2017 from working in purchasing services in Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning. “You can really see the appreciation in people.”

Dietrich’s been helping out Christmas Day at Pitt for three years now.

“I don’t have family and I don’t have anything to do on Christmas Day,” she said. “This is now a habit. I like volunteering.”

Coats offered

One floor up from the cafeteria, crowds of Pittsburghers tried on coats to see which ones would fit them best and keep them warmest this winter. That was thanks to volunteers from Urban League Young Professionals and True T Pittsburgh, an advocacy group focusing on queer people of color.

“I feel like there’s nothing better than giving,” said Julian McClain, 32, of Penn Hills, president of the young professionals group. “It’s really fulfilling.”

Ducar, the event organizer, has worked for “mission-oriented” nonprofits before but feels there’s something extra-special about helping those in need on Christmas.

“I just think that it’s really important, when things feel very tough, to have a place that’s filled with joy, that’s filled with community,” she said. “I’m so proud of the Pitt community for being able to step in and fill that gap.”