Many churches and organizations serve lunch on Thanksgiving Day. But Ozanam Inn serves more than two hundred meals three times on Thanksgiving, on the day after Thanksgiving and throughout the year. 

[219,000 meals each year]

The Dinning Room has been made ready for the 200+ guest who will come to Ozanam Inn for a hot lunch on the Day AFTER Thanksgiving

Men and women [and sometimes children] wait in line for a hot lunch.

Knapsacks and plastic bags containing all of the worldly possessions of some of our guest are left outside while they eat lunch.

These men and women [the lady in pink sweater and the lady in front of her] are close to entering the Dining Room.

Today the volunteer servers include two mothers and their two daughters [the youngest of the four young ladies is ten years old].

Dinner is served!  The men standing in the background are Volunteer Corps Assistants [VCA's] who live at the Inn in return for performing work assigned to them to keep the Inn clean and orderly.

In the process they learn social skills and a work ethic and skills that will hopefully help them transition to independent living and full time employment.

Sugar waits patiently for her master, Adrian, to eat his hot lunch and hopefully bring her some scraps. Despite his own need for assistance Adrian rescued Sugar from an abusive situation.

"Adrian, when are you coming with my lunch?"

While the last of the guests are finishing their lunch the VCA's get to work cleaning up the yard. [Several times a day they will take their brooms and shovels and a large rolling trash can to clean up the sidewalks and streets in the area around the Inn.] Even the pigeons and sparrows get involved in cleaning up the yard.

"Killer" the resident feline is licking his chops and stands ready to do his job to keep unwanted little furry critters away from the Inn. [The Inn maintains a contract with a pest control service to help Killer.]

Our Lady of Perpetual Help has come to the aid of the City of New Orleans so many times.  She looks on with her child Jesus at all the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy performed at Ozanam Inn in the name of all of the Catholics of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Please visit www.OzanamInn.org to learn about all of the great work of the Inn and consider making a generous donation during this time of Advent when we are preparing for the God's great gift to us, Jesus – God Incarnate. A donation to Ozanam Inn is a great gift for Jesus on HIS BIRTHDAY. [If you donate online your gift will be wrapped in love, not fancy paper.] May you and your loved ones have a Blessed and Joy Filled Christmas