Volunteers serve up tradition at free holiday meals

Many people observe different family traditions for Thanksgiving.

But sharing this holiday with strangers is an ongoing tradition for the longest-running free meal program in Cedar Rapids.  And the annual Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by AEGON U-S-A and Aging Services was back again this year for the 31

^st

time.

1980 was the year Cedar Rapids Dentist Dr. Duane Schmidt first sponsored a free meal for seniors so no senior would have to spend the holiday alone.  AEGON U-S-A employees stepped in as volunteers a few years later and the tradition was born.  In the early years, diners would pack the AEGON U-S-A cafeteria for the meal.  But many can't get out of the house as easily now.  So about three quarters of the nearly 1,400 meals get delivered.

Head chef Russ Slaman still has to supervise the cooking of 500 pounds of turkey and 36 gallons of gravy.  But he said the switch to more home deliveries has made a change in his schedule as well.  “The amounts (of food) are the same.  But preparation time is different.  We have to make much more food early,” he said.

One thing that really hasn‘t changed, though, is the dedication of volunteers.  At least 170 helpers took part in either preparing or serving the free meal.  And there's almost a competition of sorts to get a choice volunteer job.  Organizers say they routinely turn away some who want to help because there simply isn't room for all the willing hands.

John Kennedy, a volunteer for 14 years, said if you want to help you have to plan ahead.

“If you really love the spot you have, you have to call in early and get your name in.  We look forward to doing it, it's really nice,” Kennedy said.

A handful of diners have attended every single meal since the beginning.  For others, joining the annual meal was a new tradition.  Eleanor Hegland, who returned for a second year this Thanksgiving, said a good experience brought her back.

“It's very very nice, very filling and very good,” she said.

While AEGON U-S-A and Aging Services continued a tradition into a 4

^th

decade, another group is trying to start its own tradition.  The Streamline Kids group of Marion hosted a 1

^st

free dinner at the Paul Engle Center for Neighborhood Arts Thursday afternoon.  Organizers said some area missions and churches do have holiday meals earlier in the week.  But there's really nothing for the southeast side community on Thanksgiving day itself.

One organizer, Scott Hand, said “we're going to learn a lot doing this for the first time.  We'll know what to do and what not to do next time and learn from mistakes that we made.”

Hand was expecting about 300 people for a first event.  And the hope is maybe bigger and better next Thanksgiving.