Kiwanis, New Beginnings Pantry, pair up to offer free Thanksgiving dinners
Those in need of a warm, welcoming Thanksgiving dinner are invited to join the New Beginnings Pantry in Cape Coral on Thanksgiving day.
The community meal is sponsored by the Cape Coral Kiwanis Club.
“The first 250 people who come will be given a free Thanksgiving dinner,” said Kiwanis representative Diane Coviello. “Then, if we have enough food, we will serve others.”
The dinner will be held at the Kiwanis Hall at 360 Santa Barbara Blvd. Doors will open at 11 a.m. and the dinner will run until 2 p.m., with meals served in scheduled shifts.
“It’s a beautiful, hot Thanksgiving dinner and drinks, and everything is served,” Coviello said.
The Pantry is coordinating the event, which will be manned with a lot of volunteers.
“You don’t have to sign up; they (the Pantry) have put advertisements in churches and other areas. You just come and get in line, and we will do100 in at a time,” she said.
Diane is the Hall director and her husband, Joe, is a board member and co-chair for the Hall.
“We have 13 board members who all contribute, from managers of the stores to serving officer duties,” she said.
In addition to the big hall on Santa Barbara, the club operates a pair of thrift shops in Cape Coral, using money raised for its charitable endeavors.
Kiwanis not only contributes to Thanksgiving dinners, but to scholarships.
“We gave out $150,000 in scholarships last year,” Coviello said.
They also co-ordinated a food backpack program, distributing 500 backpacks per week to many local schools.
“Last year, every Wednesday, we got back the backpacks and refilled them for weekends so kids that signed up had food for the weekends, and that program will be coming back,” she said.
For information call 404-8981 or email princess-di611557@aol.com or email to chinahe2002@yahoo.com or 347-583-9623.