Join the Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres for a free Thanksgiving dinner at St. Raphael Catholic Church Thursday.

The dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Parish Hal of St. Rafael Church, 2514 Lee Blvd. Take out will be available for those who are no longer mobile.

“Relatives, friends and neighbors pick up take out for them,” Inke Schirrmacher said.

Everybody is welcome to enjoy the Thanksgiving meal.

“There are no restrictions,” she said.

The preparation for the meal will begin Tuesday night as they gather everything donated and go grocery shopping for the remaining items.

“On Wednesday we are preparing and cooking everything, so we can serve on Thursday,” Schirrmacher said.

The meal will consist of turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, yams, marshmallow yams, cranberries and green beans. There also will be pies and beverages.

On average, the Rotary serves approximately 700 meals.

“It’s going to be a little more this year. I also sit on the board of Lehigh Community Services. We’ve seen an increase of 50 percent of signing up for Thanksgiving gift cards and turkeys,” she said.

The Thanksgiving dinner began to feed those who did not have the means to buy a turkey.

The dinner quickly became a good event for people who lost their spouses and were spending their first holiday alone. It also reached the homeless and single mothers and their children.

The great thing about the dinner was it touched upon different kinds of needs and helped those people who are lonely, Schirrmacher said.

For those who would like to give back this holiday season are welcome to volunteer their time during the Rotary Thanksgiving dinner. Volunteers are asked to arrive at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving.

Volunteers will help serve pies, provide assistance to those who come in walkers or wheelchairs by preparing a plate for them and helping them to their seat, serve ice tea, water, or coffee, as well as clean up between and setting the table for the next batch of people.

The Thanksgiving dinner is organized by Fred Elliott of Coldwell Banker and Mike Buff, a retired law enforcement officer. Schirrmacher said Buff took it over 12 years ago when Rotary began doing the dinners.

“It’s time for the next generation to step up. Fred stepped up and is doing it for the third year. He volunteered for several years,” she said.

Schirrmacher began helping 12 years ago. She said she enjoys the event because she is giving back to the community while seeing a lot of happy faces, who are enjoying a nice festive meal.

Although the dinner is free, she said some people like to donate money. Those who donate have the means to have a Thanksgiving meal, but for one reason or another would rather not cook a meal at home.

“We have a wishing well. People can feel free to donate. That goes back to the meals that we do at Christmas time,” Schirrmacher said.