Having grown up as the youngest of eight children, Bonita Sisak is used to big holiday gatherings.

But the Thanksgiving dinner that she hosts each year with her brothers and sisters makes their family get-togethers seem small.

Tomorrow, the siblings, who grew up in Unity, will serve about 150 guests at St. Vincent Grove on the Saint Vincent College campus.

When the family started serving the dinner in 1996, the idea was to offer a free meal and fellowship to those in the Saint Vincent Basilica Parish and surrounding community, Mrs. Sisak said.

"We have each other, so it breaks my heart to know that some people are alone on Thanksgiving Day," she said. "And some people are just not able to provide a Thanksgiving meal for themselves or their families."

With her siblings, their spouses and children, she said, "every Sunday is like Thanksgiving to us. Why not spread it around?"

Mrs. Sisak, 38, of Unity, and her five brothers and two sisters are the children of Bruno and Diane Holnaider, who still live in Unity and will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year.

The family belongs to Saint Vincent Basilica Parish, and Mrs. Sisak said the church's support of their project has allowed them to offer Thanksgiving dinner for 13 years.

"We take donations from the parish, but the dinner is open to the public," she said. "You don't have to be a member of Saint Vincent to come. We welcome anyone."

The night before the dinner, Mrs. Sisak and her family stuff and start cooking the eight turkeys, while they set the tables in the St. Vincent Grove hall, decorate and chop vegetables.

The dinner -- which includes appetizers, mashed potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, punch and coffee -- is served at noon. Guests also are treated to Christmas music, games and door prizes.

The diners are a diverse group, Mrs. Sisak said.

"There are older couples without close family, there are widows and widowers, and some young couples who are going through economic hardship," she said. Some simply enjoy company on a holiday.

Others who would like to attend have health problems that prevent them from doing so or they no longer are able to drive.

"So we pick up some people and do some deliveries," Mrs. Sisak said. "Plus, there are some people who prefer to get their meal takeout."

Mrs. Sisak has heard her share of sad stories.

"I'll hear things like people losing their homes, having no stove or refrigerator," she said.

The Thanksgiving dinner project is simple, Mrs. Sisak said.

"Whatever donations we have on the day before, we spend on that year's meal, and we are lucky in that we have plenty of volunteers to help."

Now that her sons -- Michael, 14, and Anthony, 11 -- are old enough to help, Mrs. Sisak said, the annual project means even more to her.

"We started doing this because we wanted to give back to the parish, to the community," she said. "And it's a good lesson -- it's more important to give than to receive."

Mrs. Sisak said she never imagined in 1996 that she would still be doing the Thanksgiving dinner 13 years later, but she has no plans to stop.

"I'll probably continue to do it as long as my family and I can all be together. It's become a family tradition.

"I couldn't do it without my family. We've been so lucky."

For more information about the dinner or to make a donation, contact Saint Vincent Basilica, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, at 724-539-8629 or call 724-532-2840.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.