Rotarians uphold tradition of free dinner for Christmas
Mike Buff
Mike Buff and his fellow Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres members, will tell you what you already know – that “time sure does fly.”
“We can hardly believe it,”?he said. “We are preparing to serve our 11th annual Rotary Community Christmas Dinner.”
“With the help of the many, and I mean many, volunteers we are able to pull these dinners off,” Buff said.?”I want the people who help us to really know how much we appreciate it. They are a treasure each time we hold a community dinner.”
The 11th annual Community Christmas Dinner will be held on Christmas Day from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the St. Raphael Catholic Church, at 2514 Lee Blvd.
“We served 590 meals at Thanksgiving, that’s right, there at the top,” Buff said. “We saw a lot of new faces and families at Thanksgiving and we hope they will return to our Christmas dinner.”
He noted that the holiday dinner and parking are free.
“For people who want to donate, they may do so by dropping money in our Wishing Well, which is near the entrance of the church hall,”?Buff said.
“The church people are great, and they are our partners in helping us by lending us the hall at no charge,”?he added. “We appreciate them so much as they make this all possible.”
One thing is different this year.
“We won’t be serving turkey like we have in the past. Although we have served ham with turkey, this year the main meat will be ham,” Buff said. “We have planned big as we have purchased 22 hams that weigh between eight and 10 pounds each. We’ll start preparing them on Christmas Eve because the hams are already cooked.”
The club served turkeys on Thanksgiving and started preparing them two days ahead of time.
Buff said ham has become the traditional meat for Christmas, so the club is following along.
“We are planning meals for about 500 or so people. That seems to be the magic number – 500 or more,”?he said. “The menu is composed of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls and dessert.”
“The volunteers will man the line you take your plate down and will pile up the food,” Buff said. “There will be volunteers there to serve you a beverage, others to clean your tables and others who will offer you a choice of desserts.”
The public is welcome.
“We especially want to invite those who have no place to go for Christmas dinner or who are unable to prepare a meal on their own,” he said. “We also invite others who come with family and friends and get a chance to socialize and sometimes make new ones.”
“You may note that we start a little later this year. That’s because there are some churches that have not finished their services any earlier, and we want those people to be able to get here and have a great meal, too,” Buff said.
Many members of church will likely attend the dinner as they have in years past, he noted.
Local organizations that want to help sponsor the club’s future holiday dinners can contact Buff.
“This is a tradition now and we don’t want to break it, at least not until everyone in Lehigh is able to have their own Christmas dinner,” he said. “This is our Rotary Club giving back to the community and happily doing so.”
Buff thanked those who help.
“Know that you are appreciated,”?he said. “We mean that from our hearts, a big thank you.”
Attendees who would like to donate can do so at the Wishing Well as they enter the hall.
“All of that helps us for next year’s Thanksgiving Dinner. But again, and I stress this, the dinner is free,” Buff said. “We hope that those who are unable, for any reason, to prepare a dinner or be with friends on that special day to come and be with us and enjoy a great Christmas dinner.”
Rotarians uphold tradition of free dinner for Christmas
Mike Buff
Mike Buff and his fellow Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres members, will tell you what you already know – that “time sure does fly.”
“We can hardly believe it,”?he said. “We are preparing to serve our 11th annual Rotary Community Christmas Dinner.”
“With the help of the many, and I mean many, volunteers we are able to pull these dinners off,” Buff said.?”I want the people who help us to really know how much we appreciate it. They are a treasure each time we hold a community dinner.”
The 11th annual Community Christmas Dinner will be held on Christmas Day from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the St. Raphael Catholic Church, at 2514 Lee Blvd.
“We served 590 meals at Thanksgiving, that’s right, there at the top,” Buff said. “We saw a lot of new faces and families at Thanksgiving and we hope they will return to our Christmas dinner.”
He noted that the holiday dinner and parking are free.
“For people who want to donate, they may do so by dropping money in our Wishing Well, which is near the entrance of the church hall,”?Buff said.
“The church people are great, and they are our partners in helping us by lending us the hall at no charge,”?he added. “We appreciate them so much as they make this all possible.”
One thing is different this year.
“We won’t be serving turkey like we have in the past. Although we have served ham with turkey, this year the main meat will be ham,” Buff said. “We have planned big as we have purchased 22 hams that weigh between eight and 10 pounds each. We’ll start preparing them on Christmas Eve because the hams are already cooked.”
The club served turkeys on Thanksgiving and started preparing them two days ahead of time.
Buff said ham has become the traditional meat for Christmas, so the club is following along.
“We are planning meals for about 500 or so people. That seems to be the magic number – 500 or more,”?he said. “The menu is composed of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls and dessert.”
“The volunteers will man the line you take your plate down and will pile up the food,” Buff said. “There will be volunteers there to serve you a beverage, others to clean your tables and others who will offer you a choice of desserts.”
The public is welcome.
“We especially want to invite those who have no place to go for Christmas dinner or who are unable to prepare a meal on their own,” he said. “We also invite others who come with family and friends and get a chance to socialize and sometimes make new ones.”
“You may note that we start a little later this year. That’s because there are some churches that have not finished their services any earlier, and we want those people to be able to get here and have a great meal, too,” Buff said.
Many members of church will likely attend the dinner as they have in years past, he noted.
Local organizations that want to help sponsor the club’s future holiday dinners can contact Buff.
“This is a tradition now and we don’t want to break it, at least not until everyone in Lehigh is able to have their own Christmas dinner,” he said. “This is our Rotary Club giving back to the community and happily doing so.”
Buff thanked those who help.
“Know that you are appreciated,”?he said. “We mean that from our hearts, a big thank you.”
Attendees who would like to donate can do so at the Wishing Well as they enter the hall.
“All of that helps us for next year’s Thanksgiving Dinner. But again, and I stress this, the dinner is free,” Buff said. “We hope that those who are unable, for any reason, to prepare a dinner or be with friends on that special day to come and be with us and enjoy a great Christmas dinner.”
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