We Care Meals to host free Christmas dinner, calls for volunteers
APPLETON - Earlier this year, local charity We Care Meals had been seeking a new place to serve over 2,000 community meals this holiday.
Now, the organization — which has served free Christmas and Easter meals for over 30 years — will host its Christmas dinner at the Grand Meridian, 2621 N. Oneida St.
Preparations for this year's meal are "going great," organizer Ed Rathsack said. "It's kind of neat what (the venue) did for us."
"We are happy to give We Care Meals a new home this Christmas," Grand Meridian event coordinator Sue Lamers said. "They fill such a great need for the community and we are glad to be a small part of that."
Last Easter, We Care Meals made and delivered around 2,000 meals to people throughout the Valley, Rathsack said. Now, he says the charity plans to return to both serving and delivering this year's meals in similar or greater numbers.
The Grand Meridian's ballroom can hold around 400 people, with parking space for over 300 cars, Lamers said.
Rathsack says the mission of We Care Meals is to "feed the body and nourish the soul" by turning strangers into friends around the holiday dinner table.
"We're just hoping that more people will take the opportunity (to come)," Rathsack said, "Instead of sitting at home and sitting by themselves, (we hope) they'll say 'Hey, why don't I just go out there and have a meal and see who I meet?'"
How to get a meal — and how you can help
If you'd like to come share a free meal for Christmas, We Care Meals invites everyone in the community to visit from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Christmas Day at the Grand Meridian on 2621 N. Oneida St. No reservations are required.
If you would prefer to have a meal delivered to your home, call 920-358-9671. Reservations for deliveries are first come, first served and must be made before noon Dec. 23. We Care Meals delivers to Appleton, Combined Locks, Fox Crossing, Grand Chute, Greenville, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Little Chute, Menasha and Neenah.
If you'd like to help We Care Meals, the community can help put on the Christmas dinner in several ways. Rathsack estimates the Christmas meal needs around 300 volunteers for deliveries, food preparation and set-up. You can volunteer your time by calling 920-731-7867.
As for donations, food and supplies are typically donated by local businesses. For monetary contributions, however, We Care Meals has a fund managed by Goodwill NCW.
For more information, call 920-358-9671 or pick up a flyer at police stations in the Fox Cities.
More:Here's a stocking full of holiday events in Appleton and the Fox Cities
Rebecca Loroff is a breaking and trending news reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: We Care Meals to host free Christmas dinner at Grand Meridian
