Salvation Army Christmas Dinner Spreads Community and Holiday Spirit to Hundreds of Guests
For decades, The Salvation Army in Windsor, Ont., has hosted an annual Christmas dinner open to everyone in the community. This year, the event took place on Dec 13, serving over 650 guests.
The dinner took place at St. Clair Centre for the Arts. A traditional Christmas menu was served, and the event had live musical entertainment.
While Windsor’s Centre of Hope serves a weekly Community meal, the Christmas dinner was set up differently to make the experience more special for the guests. Community Engagement Specialist, Shannon Barnwell explains.
“The Christmas dinner is not just providing a meal; we do a whole Christmas experience. The difference is that instead of you going up and grabbing your meal, which is what usually happens in our community meals, we come to your table. It is a nice sit-down kind of atmosphere,” Shannon said.
“A lot of the people that we serve might be alone, they might not have anyone to share a meal with.”
Everyone is welcome to attend The Salvation Army Christmas dinner; however, many of the guests in attendance are individuals who are currently in challenging situations or who do not have anyone to spend the holidays with. Providing a comfortable community atmosphere is one of the goals of the event.
“A lot of the people that we serve might be alone, they might not have anyone to share a meal with. So just having that community aspect and sharing that all together, I think it brings people up, it helps their mood this time of year,” Shannon added. “Everyone was very thankful. They loved the meal; it was a very joyous atmosphere.”
To make this event a reality, 150 volunteers came out to support the Army’s Christmas dinner. Many of these volunteers came wearing their best Christmas attires.
Marie Mifsud is someone who loves to help The Salvation Army, frequently contributing with donations. Recently, Marie has taken an interest in volunteering for The Salvation Army. The Christmas dinner was her first chance to do so.
“It is always a pleasure to witness the joy on the faces of our guests enjoying the delicious turkey meal and immerse themselves in the holiday spirit.”
“This was my first time doing the event. I thought it was fantastic. I was just so happy to do it to help out. It was an honour,” Marie said.
During the event, Marie helped decorate the venue, sang Christmas carols and served coffee to the guests. She got a chance to speak with some of them and hear their stories. The dinner left a lasting impression on Marie.
“The fellowship, the beauty of people coming and being together, everybody seemed happy to be together with their friends and their families,” Marie shared.
The Salvation Army in Windsor is committed to helping the vulnerable population struggling with food insecurity. The Centre of Hope hosts a weekly community meal every Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m.
“It is always a pleasure to witness the joy on the faces of our guests enjoying the delicious turkey meal and immerse themselves in the holiday spirit. We are grateful for the support of our community and honoured to have been a part of their Christmas celebrations,” said Major Danny Pinksen, thanking everyone who attended.
By Juan Romero
