MIAAOR Side Dish Drive Underway

November means the return of balmy weather, the start of the Christmas season, and what has become a tradition on the island: the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors’ (MIAAOR) annual donation of side dishes for the St. Matthew’s House Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate.

St. Matthew’s House is a Naples-based homeless shelter, food bank, and substance abuse recovery program provider. Each year, the nonprofit prepares and serves at least 1,000 Thanksgiving meals, free of charge, at its Airport-Pulling Road main campus, its satellite facilities, and for other organizations.

Residents are asked to donate disposable, covered trays of pre-cooked and reheatable side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, baked yams, mashed and baked sweet potatoes, vegetables and other favorites, as well as boxed-up pies and dinner rolls. Items that require refrigeration are discouraged, as are dishes with excess liquids.

This is the 29th year that MIAAOR has collected side dishes for the charity’s Thanksgiving celebration.

Longtime Marco realtor Bill Filbin started the program after learning that while St. Matthew’s House’s culinary staff prepares turkeys and hams in the main campus’ kitchen, the facility did not have the ovens or stovetops needed to prepare all the side dishes for the dinners.

Since the program’s inception, Filbin had remained hands-on in the effort, essentially serving as a one-man operation: buying the pans, occasionally dispensing them, and on Thanksgiving morning, loading the donations and delivering them to St. Matthew’s House.

However, he had to curtail his involvement two years ago due to serious health issues related to his exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange while serving in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

Stepping in to assume Filbin’s role this year is Jack Winnik, a realtor with Engel and Völkers’ Marco office. Aside from donating side dishes, he’s also assisted Filbin since moving to the island 13 years ago.

He cited several reasons for assuming the leadership role.

“I have a really soft spot in my heart for Saint Matthew’s House and for the things that they do for our community and for the homeless and for people with chemical dependencies,” said Winnik. “That’s one of the main reasons that I have been helping. The other reason is mainly to keep the tradition going to honor Bill because Bill has spent his whole life volunteering and helping wherever he can. He’s been fundamental for this effort with Saint Matthew’s House.”

The covered disposable trays can be picked up at MIAAOR offices, located at 140 Waterway Drive. Donations can be dropped off there from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Thanksgiving morning.

Winnik urged his fellow community members to join in this effort to brighten the holiday for the less fortunate.

“We are, for the most part, very well off and it’s the time to not forget the needy, and people that are in distress, people that have some sort of hardship in their life,” he said. “It’s important for us to give back and to make sure that at the time of Thanksgiving, we give thanks to our Lord and -thanks for the things that we were given so the others can benefit from our gifts.”

For more information, call Jack Winnik at 847-652-6525 or MIAAOR at 239-394-5616.