Joomla Login LightBox powered by WowJoomla.com

Close to 1,000 area residents are expected to come together and share dinner this year at two sites on Christmas Day.

Gifts from the Heart, a newly formed foundation, is hosting the free dinners, which will be from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 25, at Excelsior Springs High School and Platte City Middle School.

“This is open for everyone,” said Kevin Oliver, coordinator for the dinner in Platte County. “We’re not going to turn anyone away.”

Among the groups in particular that Oliver said they would like to serve at the dinner are the homeless, people in need, elderly, singles, military families with loved ones serving overseas and others alone on Christmas Day.

The menu will be that of a traditional holiday meal, and toys will be provided for the children.

Oliver said collection boxes for the toys will soon be going up throughout the Northland.

The food for the dinners is already in place, including 200 turkeys, 10 whole hogs and side dishes.

The turkeys will be placed in a commercial smoker the night before the dinner.

“We have enough food to feed close to 4,000 people,” Gary Huett of Gifts from the Heart said. “There’s no reason for anyone to go without.”

Huett is looking for many lives to be touched through the effort.

“People have so many needs this year,” he said.

Helping the foundation meet those needs will be a large group of volunteers, doing everything from working on meal preparations and toy collections to serving the meals on Christmas Day.

Oliver said volunteers are already meeting on a weekly basis.

He added that volunteers working on Christmas Day would do so in shifts, limiting their time commitment.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to help out, including families,” he said.

Anyone interested in assisting with the preparations or the dinners on Christmas Day can contact Kevin Oliver at 863-9310 or Gary Huett at 799-1112.

Senior writer Mark Johnson can be reached at 781-4941 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed