At the end of October, we found out that Burlington Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront was no longer holding their annual dinner for seniors due to budget cuts, and that HANDS, who had delivered gift bags and grocery cards to senior neighbors, was closing down. Our board president reached out to the executive director of the Heineberg Senior Center and the coordinator of the ONE Community Dinner and in a few hours we decided that we would make sure our older neighbors had a community dinner after all. In six short weeks we put together an event at the ONE Community Center on Dec. 18th that we are so proud of. Over 150 older neighbors came out enjoy good food and great company and 30 volunteers worked hard before, during, and after the event to make sure it was the best it could possibly be. This was a true community event with guests from near and far. It was a gift to all of us to be part of it!

Our gratitude goes out to Feeding Champlain Valley who provided the turkey dinner with additional dishes and ingredients from Frankie’s, Miss Weinerz, City Market, Deep City, Intervale Community Farm, Diggers’ Mirth Collective Farm, Great Harvest Bread Co., and Cafe HOT; to Twincraft Skincare, Ursa Major, and HoneyBee / Heather for providing gifts for guests and volunteers; to the ONE Community Dinner for their incredible organizing and logistics help; to the Heineberg Senior Center for their support with registration and transportation; to the Elks Lodge for use of their serving platters; and to Champlain Housing Trust for the discounted rental fee for the Event Hall.