NyeCC, LDS church to host community dinners Thursday

Money tight this Thanksgiving? No problem.

It’s certainly no reason not to enjoy a complete Thanksgiving dinner this year. Once again all are invited to the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the NyE Communities Coalition Campus on Thursday.

The event is sponsored by NyE Communities Coalition’s Holiday Task Force.

The free celebration will run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Organizer Linda DeMeo said the event simply gives the community a reason to be thankful each year.

“We have enough food for a thousand people. It’s all about community and the spirit of giving. It’s important that we are able to help those coming out of difficult situations. Everyone should have a Thanksgiving meal,” she said.

Those who cannot find their way to the NyECC’s campus tomorrow can still get their fill.

DeMeo said the task force will provide free hot meal deliveries to the valley’s homebound population thanks to volunteers.

“We have nearly 100 deliveries so far but usually we have more than 200. We will take calls on Thanksgiving Day. Some people don’t get the information until the day of the event. If someone calls we will get them up to four meals per address. We have food and we just want to share with those in the community who need it,” she said.

Volunteer Cassie Huhn says anyone who wishes to volunteer their time on Thursday are welcome to come.

“We are always looking for volunteers. Right now our biggest slot where we need them is the clean-up and that would be from about 2:30 until the event is eventually cleaned up. We are however still accepting servers. All they have to do is show up and we’ll point them in the right direction. The clean-up depends on how many volunteers we have. If we have just two volunteers, it’s going to take a while, but if we have 20, it’s going to go a lot faster,” she said.

Nye County Commissioner Butch Borasky has been associated with the coalition’s holiday task force for several years.

Borasky, who is also volunteering his time on Thursday, said the community dinner is a great way for families to come together and enjoy the holidays.

“Any time you can bring the community together in a mass as big as that, you are reaching out to a lot of people all at once and that’s something that really gets neighbors to know neighbors. To me it is one of the most exciting events we can have here and again, it’s open to everyone. This is not just directed towards somebody who can’t afford to have a meal and the amount of volunteers we have had over the years is unbelievable. It shows their community spirit and to me overall it’s a great thing,” he said.

Pahrump’s community spirit will also be witnessed at another location in town on Thursday.

The Latter Day Saints church at 921 E. Wilson Rd. is also serving up Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Volunteer Cindy Colucci said all are welcome to stop by and enjoy.

The church is within walking distance of the coalition campus.

“We just want people to come out and enjoy good times with great food. If they want to volunteer, they can, but we would just like them to come out and enjoy and socialize. You don’t have to be a member of the church to have dinner with us. We hope they bring a healthy appetite,” she said.

The LDS dinner also runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

DeMeo, meanwhile, said if it were not for the generosity of the community, the holiday dinner would be a difficult task to undertake.

Many individuals, businesses and agencies came together to make the event come to fruition as it has for more than a decade.

“The sheriff’s office has always been a tremendous help. When Capt. Bill Becht left, Assistant Sheriff Rick Marshall picked it up and we continued on. Rick is helping to coordinate all of the home deliveries this week so our volunteers are driving back and forth. We try to contain them in the same areas because it’s their time and their gas. We are all looking forward to this on Thursday,” she said.