A group of Marion County volunteers plans to make the holidays special for some people who might not get the chance to celebrate.
A community-wide Christmas dinner will begin at noon at Calvary Baptist Church, 1309 Church St., and last until at least 3 p.m.
“We want to invite anyone who doesn’t have someone to spend Christmas with to join us,” c, one of the organizers, said.
Cavanaugh said she and a group of family and friends got together recently and thought about folks who might be homeless, elderly or might not have family to spend Christmas with and wanted to set up a dinner for them.
“I don’t want anybody to be left out,” Cavanaugh said. “I also want to invite first responders to join us. I know there will be people on duty who might like to get a meal on Christmas Day. Hopefully, this will kind of build up and make other things happen for people in our community that are less fortunate.”
Cavanaugh said she’s already lined up a host of volunteers to donate and cook for the event but could always use more.
“There are a lot of good folks in Columbia,” she said. “I’m expecting a good crowd. We’ll all enjoy the food and each other’s company. My sister (April Cook) and I were talking about something we could all do for Christmas, and we thought about doing this. She had messaged me and asked if we were doing anything and I said no, but I could cook for us. That prompted me to post it on Facebook because I was worried about people that didn’t have anywhere else to go to eat Christmas dinner.
“It’s kind of snowballed from there. It’s amazing how many people have volunteered to help out.”
Cavanaugh said some plates would be available for delivery to people who aren’t able to make it out of their homes.
To volunteer, donate food items or get additional information, please contact Cavanaugh at (601) 810-7123 or Cook at (601) 441-1989.
