Every year around this time, Marley Holte gets a little
anxious
– in both a good and a bad way.
Every year around this time, Marley Holte gets a little anxious – in both a good and a bad way.
He’s excited about his annual Christmas dinner for residents of San Benito County. But he’s also worried about getting enough volunteers.
But Holte, a San Juan Bautista resident, trusts that the community will once again come through.
“This time of the year, we don’t have anyone (committed) yet,” Holte said. “So I’m a little concerned.”
Each year, Holte organizes holiday dinners on Thanksgiving and Christmas at the O’Reilly Youth Center at Sacred Heart Church, 680 College St. The dinners mostly feed disadvantaged members of the county, many who cannot otherwise afford the meal. But Holte emphasizes that anyone from the county is welcome.
Last year’s Christmas dinner drew 880 guests, while the record was set in 1999 with 1,083. This year, Holte expects somewhere around 800, in which case he said he would like to have about 70 to 80 people volunteering.
But so far he hasn’t received any commitments.
“We have our regulars showing up,” Holte said. “We need help prepping turkeys the night before, then in the morning…”
He said volunteer duties range widely, from preparing food throughout the day and setting up the dining room to serving guests and delivering dinners to people who can’t attend.
He commended the crop of volunteers at the Thanksgiving dinner, particularly many of the youthful faces lending a hand.
“I really appreciated the way the youth came through,” Holte said.
He said the Girl Scouts are again making pies for the Christmas dinner, which they did for the Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Holte expressed some concern over a lower-than-expected guest attendance at the Thanksgiving dinner. About 400 people showed, compared to 450 in 2001. He and other philanthropists in the community are working on ways to increase awareness of the holiday dinners.
The stock of turkeys is adequate for the Christmas dinner, Holte said. But he added that the dinner can always use additional donations and toys. Every child who attends gets a gift, with Santa Claus on hand to help give them out. Holte also uses surplus money and food to fill grocery bags for guests to take home.
Christmas dinner will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Those interested in volunteering should contact Pat Richardson at 637-0566. Holte will personally accept any other questions by phone at 623-4313.
