Rotary to host free, annual Thanksgiving dinner
Mike Buff
Mike Buff says he wants everyone in the community to become aware of the free annual Thanksgiving Dinner that is hosted by the Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres.
It’s on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27) and begins at 11 a.m. to continues to 2 p.m. or until the food is all gone.
“There are still some out there who are not aware of the Rotary’s preparation of a holiday feast and those who attend are not asked for a dime,” Buff said.
Last year, he said close to 500 people showed up for the annual feast that is held in the parish hall of St. Raphael’s Church on Lee Blvd., just across from Walmart.
“We have a line every year when we open the doors and it is a wonderful thing to see. That gives Rotarians a good feeling to know that we are able to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to our friends.
“A free Thanksgiving dinner is the Rotary’s way of caring out one of its mottoes and living it, ‘Service Above Self, ‘” Buff Said.
One of Rotary’s official mottos, Service Above Self traces back to the early days of the Rotary Club in the U.S.
And the Rotary Club Lehigh Acres believes strongly in those words and as such, does much for the community, by giving out dictionaries and thesauruses to elementary school kids to a host of other activities. The local club is not a big one – it has around 28 members – but it does big things.
And the biggest of those things may be the Thanksgiving and the Christmas Day dinners that they prepare for the community at no cost.
Preparing a dinner for 500 people or more and that is what Buff is predicting for this year’s annual feast and it is no easy task.
Every member takes part in the project in some way, Buff said.
As for himself and Jack Vealey, a co-chairman of the dinners, Buff and Vealey will come in at 4 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving and begin cooking several turkeys. Along with them will be such Rotarians as Richard Groetchan and others, Buff said looking down at the sign-up sheet.
Then later in the morning at around 8 a.m., the day before Thanksgiving there is another crew of Rotarians that come in and take over.
Such people as Debra Shuman, Fred Elliott, Mike Neven and Ginny Chevalier (she’s from a Rotary Club in Maine) take the turkeys from the ovens when they are fully done and begin cutting the meat for serving.
It’s like clockwork all the way up until official opening on Thanksgiving Day.
It began more than 10 years ago when Lisa Goehle, who then was director of a help agency in Lehigh, noted that there were lots of needy people who would not be able to have a Thanksgiving Dinner. So she set about, along with her husband, Paul Goehle, a Rotarian, to cook dinners. Volunteers came in and helped out and on that first Thanksgiving Day, more than 100 people came for the free dinner. That was before the Great Recession hit the country. Lehigh was hit especially hard.
Goehle says she is happy to see how the dinner has continued to grow in attendance since the Rotary took it over eight years ago.
This is the 8th annual dinner, according to Buff, and each year the Rotary buys more turkeys, more potatoes and more vegetables plus additional desserts, expecting a larger crowd.
And Buff doesn’t think this year will be any different.
“Things are still rough out there for many people and many will not be able to buy a Thanksgiving meal and many won’t even be able to attend one because family and friends don’t live in the area. And there are many, many people who can’t afford the extra expenses of a Thanksgiving dinner, Buff added.
“As we have said over and over again, this Thanksgiving Dinner is free of charge. We do not ask for money. If there are those who want to donate into our Wishing Well at the entrance, they may do so.”
Buff noted that it has become traditional now for many families to come to the dinner instead of having to prepare a meal at home. And those people who can afford a dinner, are generous and drop in what a dinner might cost in a restaurant. That helps to pay for the turkeys and other ingredients.
“But for sure, there is no cost. It is our gift to the community. The Rotary wants people to come, especially those who have no other place to go and especially to those people who just don’t have the money to buy turkeys and all that goes with it,” Buff said.
Dinner is dished out in a long serving line and to do that, Buff said they also need volunteers and each year, people turn out to help out. Those who work the lines take shifts and often there are people who come who dont’ have the money to buy a meal, but want to serve on the line or do something else to help the Rotary.
Buff said that if you want to volunteer, you should probably come at around 9:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“Just bang on the door and we’ll let you in and assign you to a certain task to help us out,” Buff said. Volunteers serve desserts, beverages and help those who are unable to walk through a line. They keep the lined filled with food. They usher people in and show them were they may sit.
And best of all, Buff says, they are there to help clean up. Volunteers can call me on my cell if they would like. It’s 239-464-4253.
“When we leave the parish hall, we leave the kitchen in the same order we find it, clean with all the pots and pans and dishes put away,” Buff said.
“We thank to thank St. Raphael’s Church during these past years for giving us the room for Thanksgiving. A lot of the members of the church after Mass come over and enjoy dinner with us and we encourage that every year.”
This year the Rotary Club purchased an additional three big turkeys “two or three more than last year” just in anticipation of a larger crowd.
Last year, they cooked and served 30 big juicy turkeys, all sliced up with dressing and all that goes with such a dinner.
“We’ve come a long way since when we started the cooking,” Buff said. “Back then we served at 200 or so people at the first dinner that we did the cooking. And now we are looking to at least 500 and likely more as the word spreads,” Buff said.
“It’s open to everyone. Just come and enjoy the fellowship of others who are also coming to dinner.”
Rotary to host free, annual Thanksgiving dinner
Mike Buff
Mike Buff says he wants everyone in the community to become aware of the free annual Thanksgiving Dinner that is hosted by the Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres.
It’s on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27) and begins at 11 a.m. to continues to 2 p.m. or until the food is all gone.
“There are still some out there who are not aware of the Rotary’s preparation of a holiday feast and those who attend are not asked for a dime,” Buff said.
Last year, he said close to 500 people showed up for the annual feast that is held in the parish hall of St. Raphael’s Church on Lee Blvd., just across from Walmart.
“We have a line every year when we open the doors and it is a wonderful thing to see. That gives Rotarians a good feeling to know that we are able to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to our friends.
“A free Thanksgiving dinner is the Rotary’s way of caring out one of its mottoes and living it, ‘Service Above Self, ‘” Buff Said.
One of Rotary’s official mottos, Service Above Self traces back to the early days of the Rotary Club in the U.S.
And the Rotary Club Lehigh Acres believes strongly in those words and as such, does much for the community, by giving out dictionaries and thesauruses to elementary school kids to a host of other activities. The local club is not a big one – it has around 28 members – but it does big things.
And the biggest of those things may be the Thanksgiving and the Christmas Day dinners that they prepare for the community at no cost.
Preparing a dinner for 500 people or more and that is what Buff is predicting for this year’s annual feast and it is no easy task.
Every member takes part in the project in some way, Buff said.
As for himself and Jack Vealey, a co-chairman of the dinners, Buff and Vealey will come in at 4 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving and begin cooking several turkeys. Along with them will be such Rotarians as Richard Groetchan and others, Buff said looking down at the sign-up sheet.
Then later in the morning at around 8 a.m., the day before Thanksgiving there is another crew of Rotarians that come in and take over.
Such people as Debra Shuman, Fred Elliott, Mike Neven and Ginny Chevalier (she’s from a Rotary Club in Maine) take the turkeys from the ovens when they are fully done and begin cutting the meat for serving.
It’s like clockwork all the way up until official opening on Thanksgiving Day.
It began more than 10 years ago when Lisa Goehle, who then was director of a help agency in Lehigh, noted that there were lots of needy people who would not be able to have a Thanksgiving Dinner. So she set about, along with her husband, Paul Goehle, a Rotarian, to cook dinners. Volunteers came in and helped out and on that first Thanksgiving Day, more than 100 people came for the free dinner. That was before the Great Recession hit the country. Lehigh was hit especially hard.
Goehle says she is happy to see how the dinner has continued to grow in attendance since the Rotary took it over eight years ago.
This is the 8th annual dinner, according to Buff, and each year the Rotary buys more turkeys, more potatoes and more vegetables plus additional desserts, expecting a larger crowd.
And Buff doesn’t think this year will be any different.
“Things are still rough out there for many people and many will not be able to buy a Thanksgiving meal and many won’t even be able to attend one because family and friends don’t live in the area. And there are many, many people who can’t afford the extra expenses of a Thanksgiving dinner, Buff added.
“As we have said over and over again, this Thanksgiving Dinner is free of charge. We do not ask for money. If there are those who want to donate into our Wishing Well at the entrance, they may do so.”
Buff noted that it has become traditional now for many families to come to the dinner instead of having to prepare a meal at home. And those people who can afford a dinner, are generous and drop in what a dinner might cost in a restaurant. That helps to pay for the turkeys and other ingredients.
“But for sure, there is no cost. It is our gift to the community. The Rotary wants people to come, especially those who have no other place to go and especially to those people who just don’t have the money to buy turkeys and all that goes with it,” Buff said.
Dinner is dished out in a long serving line and to do that, Buff said they also need volunteers and each year, people turn out to help out. Those who work the lines take shifts and often there are people who come who dont’ have the money to buy a meal, but want to serve on the line or do something else to help the Rotary.
Buff said that if you want to volunteer, you should probably come at around 9:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“Just bang on the door and we’ll let you in and assign you to a certain task to help us out,” Buff said. Volunteers serve desserts, beverages and help those who are unable to walk through a line. They keep the lined filled with food. They usher people in and show them were they may sit.
And best of all, Buff says, they are there to help clean up. Volunteers can call me on my cell if they would like. It’s 239-464-4253.
“When we leave the parish hall, we leave the kitchen in the same order we find it, clean with all the pots and pans and dishes put away,” Buff said.
“We thank to thank St. Raphael’s Church during these past years for giving us the room for Thanksgiving. A lot of the members of the church after Mass come over and enjoy dinner with us and we encourage that every year.”
This year the Rotary Club purchased an additional three big turkeys “two or three more than last year” just in anticipation of a larger crowd.
Last year, they cooked and served 30 big juicy turkeys, all sliced up with dressing and all that goes with such a dinner.
“We’ve come a long way since when we started the cooking,” Buff said. “Back then we served at 200 or so people at the first dinner that we did the cooking. And now we are looking to at least 500 and likely more as the word spreads,” Buff said.
“It’s open to everyone. Just come and enjoy the fellowship of others who are also coming to dinner.”
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