Hundreds of seniors turned out for a special Christmas luncheon at the Maple Ridge Alliance Church on Thursday, Dec. 15.
It was the first in-person event since the restrictions lifted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joanne Leginus, with Community Services, said there were around 250 seniors who were at the event for a full turkey meal with all the fixings.
About 30 volunteers helped make the event run smoothly.
Seniors who attended the event were from the Community Services: Social Prescribing Program, Meals On Wheels, Better At Home, and the Party Bus. Seniors from the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Katzie Seniors Network were in attendance as well.
Meadow Ridge Rotary provided the food, chef Rob Field and a group of volunteers with the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries cooked the lunch, Cobs in Maple Ridge provided the dinner buns.
A group of students from Maple Ridge Christian School helped serve the meal and collect plates.
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In addition every senior at the event went home with a special gift bag filled with goodies and necessities including: chocolates, notepads, pens, flashlights, stuffies, tea bags, apple cider, calendars, and Hardbite potato chips.
Leginus noted it was important to have the gathering in-person this year.
“I talked to one senior couple and they said it was the first outing they had been on. This was huge for them. They hadn’t been out at all on any outings,” she said.
There was live entertainment provided by ….. and a Christmas carol sing-a-long. And Santa Claus also made an appearance.
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