Volunteers, donations needed for Red Andrews dinner

Volunteers are gearing up for a holiday tradition that has been in Oklahoma City for more than seven decades.

The 72nd annual Red Andrews Christmas Dinner will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Christmas Day at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Organizers expect to feed about 7,000 people, said Robert Goldman, the dinner's chairman.

The dinner will include roast turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and dessert, Goldman said. After dinner, children will be invited to have their pictures taken with Santa Claus and pick out a toy to take home. Volunteers will also distribute coats to guests who need one until they run out, he said.

For last year's dinner, organizers bought about 1,800 pounds of turkey, and ran out before the dinner ended, Goldman said. This year, volunteers will be roasting about 2,200 pounds of turkey, he said.

The dinner is staffed each year by about 500 volunteers, Goldman said. Anyone interested in volunteering should simply show up to the convention center on Christmas Day, he said. Volunteers are particularly needed at noon and early afternoon, he said.

Donations of new, unwrapped toys and new or gently used coats are being accepted at Jackie Cooper BMW, 14145 N Broadway; the Goldman Law Firm, 222 NW 13; Cort Furniture, 4300 NW 39; Lido's Asian Cuisine, 2518 N Military Ave.

Monetary donations should be sent to Republic Bank and Trust, attention Mary Blankenship Pointer, 11671 S Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK, 73170. Checks should be made payable to the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner Foundation.