With Thanksgiving Day roughly two weeks out, officials with Pahrump’s Holiday Task Force are preparing for the annual free Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 24 at the NyE Communities Coalition activities center from noon to 3 p.m.
The event, 10 years in existence, serves as a way for families and individuals to socialize and enjoy the holiday with others.
Coordinator Linda Wright said the event appears to be attracting more community members each year.
“Last year’s community dinner went very well. In fact, it went so well that we ran out of food,” she said. “We also made over 400 Thanksgiving dinners for those who were homebound. All in all, we served over 600 meals last year, which includes of course turkey, stuffing and all of the fixings.”
Pahrump residents who are homebound or without transportation on Thanksgiving need not worry about not making it to the event, as rides will be provided to and from the coalition.
“The Pahrump Senior Center and the VetTrans organization will be providing transportation to and from the community dinner,” Wright said.
“Veterans can call and make a reservation at 775-572-8387 for transportation to and from the dinner. If there is a senior citizen in the community that needs transportation, they can call the senior center at 775-727-5008, extension 10. People have to call by November 23, to set up their transportation.”
Additionally, Pahrump’s homebound residents can also call to have Thanksgiving meals delivered to their home.
“For people who cannot make the dinner in person, they can call Linda DeMayo at 775-209-4683,” Wright said. “People can call right up until Thanksgiving morning, but we would prefer to have them call earlier to get it scheduled, but if, for some reason they can’t, we will deliver the meals on Thanksgiving morning. There’s a limit of four meals per household.”
The scope of organizing the community dinner should not be ignored.
Wright noted, without the help and assistance of volunteers, the community dinner would be next to impossible to pull off each year.
Some of the positions include food servers and those who will oversee the dessert table.
Security personnel, as well as a post-dinner cleanup crew, are now being sought.
“We would not be able to do this properly without the help of all of the great volunteers,” she said. “Volunteers are a big necessity and we could not survive without our volunteers within the community. For those who want to volunteer, they can call the coalition at 775 727- 9970, extension 236.”
Wright also said monetary donations would be greatly appreciated for the community dinner.
“We will take any donations, including gift cards and checks,” Wright said. “We will accept them here at NyE Communities Coalition and people can make their checks payable to the coalition and put holiday task force or holiday meals in the memo section.”
Wright said she has witnessed firsthand over the years how individuals react to the annual community event.
“The families are very grateful for this community Thanksgiving dinner,” she said. “We do it to give back to the community and to spread friendship, goodwill and socialization to those who would otherwise be alone for the holidays, which is very sad. We also have information on various services for them as well. It’s all about the spirit of being together and sharing.”
The Community Thanksgiving Dinner will take place Thursday Nov., 24th at the coalition’s activity center from noon to 3 p.m.
The facility is located at 1020 E. Wilson Road, across from the Nye County School District offices.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @sharrispvt