Tūrangi Christmas Day lunch: Volunteers needed

The Tūrangi Christmas Day lunch is a long-standing annual tradition.

Christmas is coming, and so is Tūrangi’s free community Christmas lunch.

Organisers River of Life Church are on the lookout for volunteers to help serve up some festive cheer.

For the last 17 years, the clock striking 12.30pm on Christmas Day has seen 150 to 200 people arrive at the Senior Citizens’ Hall in Tūrangi’s town centre for a lunch cooked with love.

All are welcome, including visitors to Tūrangi, families in need of a holiday boost and folks who simply want to come along to share the day with the community.

The lunch is traditional - ham, chicken and pork - and comes with all the trimmings, including veggies and salads.

There’s even dessert afterwards, featuring classics like trifle, pavlova, icecream and fruit salad.

Helpers are wanted on Christmas Eve from 1pm onwards to help prepare the vegetables for cooking, as well as from 7am on Christmas Day to help cook, prepare and serve the food, do the dishes and tidy up afterwards.

The church are also on the lookout for present donations for everyone from newborns to senior citizens. These will be distributed by helper elves on Christmas Day, so it would be appreciated if they could be wrapped and labelled with the age and gender of the person they would suit.

There is a drop-off point for gifts at Unichem Pharmacy Tūrangi.

• Please contact Pastor Steve Hollis if you can offer any assistance or wish to be involved in any way. His contact number is 021 074 6435. He passes on his thanks to the community, who make the Christmas lunch a success every year.

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