ST. PETERSBURG -- Joe Maddon grew up in Hazelton, Pa., where the smells of Italian cooking wafted throughout his cozy household during the holidays.

Those same aromas were in the air Wednesday at St. Vincent de Paul Society in St. Petersburg, where Maddon and the Rays prepared a holiday feast for 200.

When Maddon took the job as manager of the Rays after the 2005 season, he wanted to get involved with the community. Inspired shortly thereafter by a team visit to St. Vincent de Paul Society in St. Petersburg, Maddon decided to bring a little piece of Hazelton to the big city.

Last Christmas, Maddon began a Rays tradition -- Thankmas -- by preparing a holiday meal for approximately 300 needy individuals at the St. Vincent de Paul Society. This year, the Rays have spread the event into Hillsborough and Manatee Counties as well. In addition to a return visit to the St. Vincent de Paul Society on Wednesday, Maddon and Rays front office staff prepared and served meals for the Salvation Army in Bradenton on Tuesday, and will do the same at Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa on Thursday.

"It's very gratifying," Maddon said. "It is my intention to continue growing Thanksmas in the future. We have gone from one lunch in our first year at St. Vincent de Paul to a dinner, lunch, and dinner this year that includes the Bradenton Salvation Army and Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa."

Included in the package is buying the food, which Maddon and company handled Sunday when he bought all the groceries at the South Tampa Sam's Club. Maddon spent more than $1,900 on items that included 120 pounds of ground beef which became 1,500 meatballs, 650 sausage links, 18 pounds of grated cheese, one pound of garlic, 20 pounds of bread crumbs, 108 pounds of spaghetti, 10 dozen eggs, 40 loaves of bread, four gallons of salad dressing and 15 pounds of diced onions and eight sheet cakes that serve 80. The meals were cooked Monday at Tropicana Field with the help of Gary Brosi, the chef for Centerplate, which has the food concession at Tropicana Field. Brosi was able to take Maddon's family recipes and mass-produce the meatballs and sauce.

"My favorite aspect of this is bringing our staff together working on behalf of this cause, and then having people shaking my hand, telling me they appreciate what we are doing," Maddon said. "I see true gratitude from the people we are attempting to help. We want people to know that we care. These people are not invisible and the reasons they are in their situations vary. This year we are getting more involved with the family aspect. This part of the homeless situation is very troubling and deserves much attention on our part."

Maddon feels a great deal of empathy for the homeless.

"My father held Mother Teresa in high regard for the work she did," Maddon said. "He probably rubbed off on me a bit."

Maddon seemed touched by the plight of the people piling into St. Vincent de Paul Wednesday.

"I actually have a photo that I keep that I took when I was in Italy several years ago," Maddon said. "It shows a woman heaped in a ball on the ground begging with a cane in her hand with an envelope in front of her for any kind of donation. This picture was taken in the middle of the fort in downtown Milan. Everyone walked past her as though she were invisible and didn't exist. I will always remember that moment."

Among the Rays' contingent of approximately 20, were coaches Tom Foley, Jim Hickey and Bobby Ramos.

"I really enjoy it," Hickey said. "My wife and family have been able to partake, and they really enjoy it also. This is my favorite time of the year, it's right in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 'Thanksmas.' ... It's a perfect time where you get a chance to do something in the community to help out."

Ramos said an occasion like "Thanksmas" is what America is all about.

"It's about giving and helping the people who are down," Ramos said.

Foley took a break from stirring a pot of spaghetti to speak about "Thanksmas."

"It's a reminder to all of us that there are a lot of people out there who don't have a lot of things they need," Foley said. "And this is just one of those things where we can reach out to the community and help."