Rancho del Cielo Malibu hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for Pepperdine University students who were unable to go home for the holiday. Jill Palethorpe, Avesta Carrara and Rancho owner Sparky Greene organized the event, which included a hike in the hills and a traditional dinner for the 16 students and Rancho staff, family and friends.
“Thank you so much for today,” Tianrui Yu, an exchange student from China, told the organizers. “This is the first time I feel like being in a family since I came to America.”
Organizers said the students were helpful as well as grateful, and seemed to enjoy the food.
“They must have liked everything,” said Carrara, who works at Pepperdine. “There were hardly any leftovers!”