Some of the Montreal Alouettes are trading their jerseys for aprons this Thanksgiving.
Ten Alouettes will be serving a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the fixings to a crowd of over 350 at the Welcome Hall Mission, a homeless shelter in Griffintown.
The players who will be dishing up the food are Jean-Christophe Beaulieu, Nicolas Boulay, Chip Cox, Ethan Davis, DeQuin Evans, Sam Giguère, Kyries Hebert, Cam McDaniel, Jacob Ruby and Brandon Rutley.
The shelter's director Farrel Duclair said the extra help from the players is a big boost to morale for people who otherwise might be alone on Thanksgiving.
"The fact that they spend their time, their energy, their effort to come here, it's huge. It's also a time of being normal, being all together and enjoying Thanksgiving."
Though the meal could take a big longer to serve than normal due to the number of Alouettes fans at Bon Accueil, Duclair pointed out.
"We try to move things along but oftentimes the guys ask for autographs and want to take pictures."
The team have pitched in before and Duclair said it's an extremely positive experience.
"The players have been extremely gracious, mingling with our clients and making this event really special," he said.
"The take away is that the community cares, that they're not forgotten. And it takes a community to help them back, to reinsert themselves into society."