A Christmas dinner will be served at the Camrose branch of the Royal Canadian Legion from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 25.

“This is our fifth dinner we have hosted. Marilyn and I came up with this idea because there are so many people who are alone on Christmas Day, or families have gone different directions, or are far away. This is not a Legion event, but it is held at the Legion and everyone is welcome. We want people to phone in and register so we know how much food to cook,” said co-organizer Jeanne Trachy.

Back in 2019, Jeanne and Marilyn Weber, who both work at the Legion, decided to provide a supper on December 25. Soon they had a lot of volunteers.

“We asked people to let us know if they were coming so that we knew how many people we had to feed. We cooked eight turkeys and fed 180 people the first year. This is for people from the community who want a place to go on Christmas,” shared Marilyn.

The dinner is for families to get together and enjoy turkey, ham, dressing, potatoes, gravy, cabbage rolls, perogies, vegetables and dessert.

“The Legion offered us the space rent free and the kitchen for the dinner, but this is not a Legion event,” said Jeanne. “Once we started talking about it, people were offering us things like a free turkey or ham. They were extremely generous and the community was awesome. We even had volunteers come in on Christmas Eve Day and peel potatoes for us and cook the turkeys.”

The ladies wanted to give back to the community and allow for some fellowship for people who are on their own.

“The amount of donations and volunteer time has blown us away. I’m okay with doing this on Christmas Day because it is a feel-good thing as well. I’m happy people can get together and enjoy a meal,” said Jeanne.

“We receive volunteer help on Christmas Eve Day because there are a lot of potatoes to peel,” laughed Marilyn.

“We get help to decorate the tables too,” added Jeanne. “All people have to do is find a way to get down here.”

The dinner is free, but you must register by calling 780-672-3325 with Jeanne or Marilyn.