Plans for the Annual Westchester Community Christmas Day Dinner in the St. Mary’s Academy School gymnasium are under way. This wonderful event has been held every year since 1994 and was based on the premise that “no one in the area should be alone or hungry on Christmas Day.” The first dinner served 50 guests and this year 300+ less fortunate residents of all faiths are expected to attend.

As the guests arrive on Christmas Day they are greeted by some of the 100 volunteers working that day. They will be served a wonderful dinner of ham, turkey, and all the trimmings. After dinner, Santa and some elves arrive with gifts for each guest. There will also be entertainment and crafts for the 150+ children expected to attend. As you can imagine, an event of this size needs lots of volunteers and donations!

In addition to the wonderful dinner and gifts from Santa, while they eat, the elves will collect information about each guest to discover their needs. The elves will then go shopping for them in a classroom loaded with tables of donated clothing, food and toys. At the end of the day of giving, the guest will leave with a take-home dinner, and their bag of gifts.

All aspects of the dinner are free of charge to the participants thanks to the generous donations of hundreds of Westchester restaurants, merchants, individuals and volunteers who donate whatever is needed to keep this tradition going. They need lots of help again this year so if you are able to contribute to this very worthy cause, please call Anne Mygatt at 914-589-1348 and she will be happy to pick up your donation or email ChristmasEvent@aol.com. All donations are used to support the dinner and help the individuals and families in the community. You can drop off donations before December 24th at the Houlihan Lawrence office located at: 156 Katonah Ave, Katonah, NY or St. Mary’s Montfort Academy located at 99 Valley Road, Katonah, NY, on December 23rd & 24th. (All donations are tax deductable)

Please help make this another very Merry Christmas!

Posted By: Sonja Lovas