By Angela Hill

Community comes together for another dinner

Dec 21, 2010 | 10:18 AM

Planning for the 2010 Community Christmas Dinner is in full swing.

Nearly all of the money required for the $7,000 event has been raised and 64 volunteers have signed up to donate their time.

This brings a smile to the faces of the organizers.

“People who are volunteers are saying, ‘I’m bringing my family.’ They see this as a family thing, which is good, which is wonderful so then they still have their family with them,” said Isabelle Impey, the co-ordinator of the dinner.

She said she is encouraging more people to join them.

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“If there are more volunteers fine, the more the better, some can take a break and visit,” she said.

“If someone has a few dollars to spare, not easy at this time of year as Christmas is expensive, but if someone has a few dollars spare and they can buy a few items … that would just be wonderful.”

The idea behind the Community Christmas Dinner is twofold. The first is to provide Christmas dinner for those who may not otherwise have it and the second is to give people a place to go, if they don’t have Christmas plans.

“Many people are alone and it’s not the time to be alone … so we ask if anyone who is going to be alone, not to be,” Impey said.

She said they are asking people to come for the entire event, from noon to 5 p.m. on Christmas day, so they can have both lunch and supper at St. Mary High School.

There will be entertainment, carolling, people visiting and activities for children, she said.

The volunteers already planning on coming to the event are arriving from all across Saskatchewan — La Ronge, Saskatoon, Spiritwood, Shell Lake and Meath Park as well as Prince Albert.

In many cases they want to do more than just help in Prince Albert, said Impey.

“They want to learn more about (the event) and see if they can eventually do it in their communities.”

By the end of the day, everyone is satisfied, Impey said.

“At the end of the day you really feel like you are doing the right thing, it’s really the Christmas spirit to be able to do these things,” she said.

Those interested in partaking in the dinner, just need to show up. People who require rides are asked to call the Bernice Sayese Community Centre at 763-9378.

“We’ve never run out of food, we’ve always have enough food … just show up, just come,” Impey said.

People who would like to volunteer or those who have anything to donate from a turkey to cranberries are asked to call Impey at 922-3071. She said they have people who are able to pick up donations or

Impey can let people know where to drop donations off.

ahill@panow.com