Volunteers big part of Christmas dinner
More than 600 dinners served at Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization
Friends, family and strangers alike gathered for a free community turkey dinner on Monday.
The Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization (LSCO) has hosted an annual Christmas Turkey dinner for over three decades.
“Originally, it was to feed their members who had nowhere to go, but it has turned into this huge thing where anybody comes,” said LSCO executive director Rob Miyashiro.
There may be a number of reasons an individual or group may not be able to attend a dinner of their own and the LSCO recognized that early on.
Transportation to the dinner was available to those who booked a week in advance, or those physically unable to attend could have their meals delivered to them.
The dinner ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the LSCO cafeteria. Miyashiro said he hoped during the course of those three hours, they would serve more than 600 traditional turkey dinners.
As one can imagine, a huge community effort is required to serve a Christmas dinner of that magnitude.
This year’s event was the first for volunteer co-ordinator Chelsea Sherbut. Initially, she imagined it would be a challenge trying to coordinate a volunteer event on Christmas Day, but she was pleasantly surprised.
“We’ve been having phone calls from people wanting to volunteer since early October,” she said. “Actually I think we got some in September, too.”
Around 140 volunteers took part in ensuring this year’s dinner was a success. Some helped prepare the turkey during the days leading up, others helped at the centre and some were out on the road providing transportation or delivering meals.
“The biggest thing this morning has been people wanting, and wanting to know right away, (how) to be helpful the moment they get here,” said Sherbut as she noted the enthusiasm from volunteers.
“It’s so high-energy, it’s amazing. I think it’s just such a special part of people’s tradition,” she added.
“And for folks who don’t have somewhere else to be, or don’t have something else happy going on today, this is hopefully going to be a bright spot.”
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