Alumni of California Rehab Volunteer at Sober Thanksgiving Dinner

Anaheim, California – The Anaheim Lighthouse, a drug and alcohol recovery facility in Southern California, hosted a sober Thanksgiving dinner for its staff, clients, guests, and their families. The dinner, which took place at the Anaheim Lighthouse campus was held on Thanksgiving Day on November 28, 2019.

This year, the Anaheim Lighthouse Treatment Program collaborated with the Alumni Program to invite former residents to volunteer and help out during the preparations. Jocel Bibera, alumni relations coordinator of the Lighthouse, said that they were grateful for having so many alumni members who were very generous with their time during holidays.

“We are so proud to have an alumni program where our participants dedicated their Thanksgiving holiday to be of service to the Lighthouse and serve food to the guests and clients, as well as decorate and set up for our Thanksgiving celebration. While many of them could have been with their families, they chose to be generous with their time and energy to show up and help us out. We are very grateful,” said Bibera.

Bibera added that the presence of the alumni members was also very inspirational, especially for resident clients who are still struggling with recovery. “In addition to volunteering, our alumni shared to our clients and guests their experience with handling the holidays newly sober and expressed a lot of gratitude for their sobriety.”

For alumni members of the Lighthouse, being a volunteer gives them an opportunity to give back and develop new connections in the community.

Tara R., a Lighthouse alumnus who volunteered at the Thanksgiving dinner said, “Volunteering at the Lighthouse was not only my way to give something back to the place that gave me a second chance at life, it was also a great way for me to connect with clients and show them that we do recover and there is hope.”