Friday, November 6, 2009 10:34 PM CST
New sponsor needed if Christmas dinner is to continue
By BILL LAIR, Managing Editor
blair@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — If a longtime Christmas tradition is to continue in Coles County, a new sponsor is needed.
Officials at Charleston Community Church said this week they will not be able to sponsor the Community Thanksgiving Dinner this year.
The church has hosted the annual free holiday dinner for more than 20 years.
Marianne Farrar, who organized the event and led the Christmas Day cooking has moved from the area, church officials said. They have no one else available to lead the Christmas dinner efforts.
The Rev. Bill Hall said church members are hopeful that another organization will consider taking over the dinner which serves as many as 350 people on Christmas Day.
“It will take someone like (Marianne) or several people working together to do this,” Hall said.
“We will help anyone and provide whatever information people need,” Hall said.
Farrar, a former member of the Charleston Community Church, started the free Christmas dinner in 1987.
With the help of food donations, cash and dozens of volunteers the dinner has grown over the years.
“It takes a lot of planning and people,” he said.
One Church member who assisted with the dinners said 10 to 20 people per shift are needed on Christmas Day.
Some volunteers assist with preparing food, others make deliveries and some are needed for cleanup.
“And others are there just to visit, to make people feel welcome,” Hall said.
“It’s been important for those in need and for those alone but also for a great number who loved volunteering,” Hall said.
Church members said if someone can organize the dinner, there should be a lot of help from volunteers.
They said the Turkey Federation donates a number of turkeys while local Boy Scouts have been among the volunteers. Each year about 75 people help, they said.
If a group or organization is interested in taking over sponsorship, they will need a place to store and prepare the food plus purchase some paper plates and plasticware for the dinner.
It helps if someone leading the cooking has an institutional cooking background.
Farrar worked in food service at Eastern Illinois University when she started the dinner. Later, she also operated a restaurant.
“We appreciate all she did,” Hall said of Farrar. “It was amazing how she, with the help of some volunteers, could make a meal for hundreds of people..
“If the dinner was a blessing for people, we were glad to be a part of it,” Hall said. “She was the hero.”
Anyone wanting more information about the Christmas dinner can call the church office at 345-4190.
Contact Bill Lair at blair@jg-tc.com or 238-6865
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