Along with carols and gifts, Christmas day brings Christmas dinner. Even if you couldn’t afford it, December 25th, anyone could have their fill.
Raju (RJ) Gomez has spent the last 14 years making it all possible.
“The first time I did it I fed about 25 people,” said Gomez. “Now it’s about 14 shelters.”
The dinner held at the Manchester Country Club, was donated by both Villa Louisa and Tastebuds catering. A myriad of volunteers showed up to help serve food and tend the crowded room.
“They get coats, they get toys, and it’s just a very special day in Manchester,” said Mayor Jay Moran of Manchester.
For Mary-Ellen Schon, the Christmas dinner with a room full of strangers was just what she needed.
“I need to be here,” said Schon. “My mother passed away last December, this is the first Christmas without her.”
Whether you were a mother of two, like Michelle Cloutier, who said she was just happy she didn’t have to cook, or a loaner looking for company like Schon, you were welcomed to sit down at those tables.
Gomez has been putting on the dinner for the well over a decade and he hopes to do so for many years to come.
