25-year turkey tradition at St. Patrick Parish

Courtesy of St. Patrick Parish (Salt Lake City)

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SALT LAKE CITY — The youth group at Saint Patrick Parish (Salt Lake City) has hosted Turkey Bingo for 25 years. The event has an even longer history in the parish – for years it was run by the Holy Name Society men’s group, but in 1992 the men allowed the youth to run it to raise funds so they could attend the World Youth Day in Denver with Pope John Paul II. After that historic event in 1993, the Holy Name Society was gracious enough to let the youth keep running the event as their annual fundraiser.

“We have kept Turkey Bingo operating the same for many years,” said Anthony Martinez, the parish’s director of Youth Ministry. “Even though it is a fundraiser for our youth, it is also a great time for families. We try to keep cost low and we take our time with the 16 games so that children can keep up. Each game is a chance for a family to win a turkey for their Thanksgiving table. We even still use the old cardboard cards with the sliders to mark the numbers. It’s a lot of fun, and we see that most of the families have been coming for years. I also like to tell these stories to our youth so that they can see where they fit in a piece of history for the parish.”

For some of the youth group members, this year was the first time they had helped with the annual event, while for others it has become something they look forward to every year.

“I like Turkey Bingo because I like helping out and I saw how many people were donating and I wanted to help, too,” said Lynette Suliafu, a first-time helper. “It was a lot of work, but we had a great time. I had lots of fun.”

Lynette’s older sister Sia Suliafu also enjoys both the work and the fun of the event.

“I started helping with Turkey Bingo when I was in 6th grade,” Sia said. “I joined the youth group at our parish and participated in the event. I like volunteering and helping out at Turkey Bingo so much that I have continued volunteering for six years now. I love seeing everyone come together to have fun and potentially win a turkey. It’s also a fun time to be with my fellow youth members and being able to take leadership in the event.”

Courtesy of St. Patrick Parish (Salt Lake City)