It started as a low-key email sent to students in her classes. University of Iowa Communications Professor Elizabeth Pearce said she would be glad to make a homemade Thanksgiving dinner for any students staying behind, not going home for the holiday, because of COVID-19 quarantine or other reasons. “Liz” even offered to make a no-contact meal door drop to be sure her students didn’t feel alone on Thanksgiving.
“I just, honestly, it would have broken my heart to think anyone was alone and missing their family – and with restaurants being closed – not having a Turkey Day meal.”
One student was so incredibly touched by the teacher’s kind offer that she shared about it on Twitter. It didn’t take long for the tweet to be retweeted and reach close to a million people nationwide! “I’ve been blown away,” by the huge response, Elizabeth shares with us. She hadn’t thought about anyone forwarding her email on social media – and attention-getting was never even a tiny part of her reason for making the meal offer.
Her motivation was simple and heartfelt. “I think the students have had a hard time this year.” She points out that financial insecurity has been troublesome for many students, like “losing part-time jobs at local restaurants or businesses, or even having parents lose a job or have their hours cut and…I do know that I’ve had now four students who’ve lost close family members.”
We invite you to take part in this encouraging Thanksgiving story by listening to our full interview with Professor Pearce on the podcast below:
Here's the Tweet that got all the positive attention:
