Community Christmas Day Dinner back on again in North Bay
Preparations are underway for the annual Community Christmas Day Dinner in North Bay.
A team of 50 volunteers and a few organizations work hard to feed those less fortunate and those who are alone during the holidays.
“Be there for the music. We have gifts and we try to put as much atmosphere as we can -- and some people even come and give us money for their meals," said dinner committee chair Sylvia Antinozzi.
The dinner will take place at Memorial Gardens on Dec. 25 for the second year in a row. Before the pandemic began, it was hosted at Pro-Cathedral of the Assumption church for 15 years. In total, the dinner has supported people for more than two decades.
“Christmastime is the most difficult time for people who don’t have money or people in their lives and we try to fulfil that as much as possible,” said Antinozzi.
Wanted to lend a hand
Except for the turkeys, most of the food will be prepared at The Gathering Place soup kitchen. The soup kitchen wanted to lend a hand last year and this year due to the ongoing health crisis.
“There are so many folks who are trying to make the Holidays as normal for their kids as possible,” said Dennis Chippa, executive director of The Gathering Place.
“So any way they can cut corners by getting an extra meal is a present for their kid.”
A number of organizations are stepping up to support the cause. The city is lending the hockey arena, and Rebuilt Resources and the North Bay Rotary Club are helping financially.
“We can donate money in order for the food to be bought. We’ve done this at least three years, if not four,” said rotary club president Robert Cunningham.
Maureen Brazeau from Rebuilt Resources presented a $3,000 cheque to help support the cause.
“Our mission is to stay local. Any of the money raised over and above what we need at Rebuilt Resources goes back into our community,” said Brazeau.
Last year the dinner served 600 meals. Between 50 and 60 people took time to sit inside and celebrate.
The committee said it wants to create a warm and joyful atmosphere for those who need their spirits lifted at this time of year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.