A free dinner for anybody in need is taking place Thanksgiving Day, where the community can cook, set up and eat together.
Hosted by Linda Schmolinski at the Westlock Alliance Church Oct. 14 , preparations and cooking will start at 1 p.m., and dinner will be served at 4 p.m. The more people that come to help, the better the chances to eat on time, she said
“Around holiday time someone on Facebook was always looking for a free dinner, and I noticed that there was never anything available. It makes sense to have that because not everybody has family,” said Schmolinski.
As for why make it free, Schmolinski said she wanted the event to be available to everybody in the community, so those with monetary restrictions wouldn’t be excluded.
The dinner is not the only one of its kind organized by Schmolinski, nor is it the only event. The inspiration behind all of them is a preoccupation with the vulnerable people within communities.
“A few years ago, I wanted to provide a free Christmas dinner, mostly because, again, I wanted to reach out to people, I wanted to share Jesus’ love with people and I feel like food is the best way to do that,” she said.
This materialized into a volunteer-run free Christmas dinner two years ago at the Westlock Alliance Church with 45 people in attendance.
“Last Christmas, I didn’t do anything as I went into a really deep depression. I realized, looking back in my journal that that’s always been a really tough time for me so I figured reaching out to other people could really help me,” said Schmolinski.
She helped make gift bags for mothers through Healthy Families Healthy Futures, stuffing them with toothbrushes, band-aids and tissue. For Valentine’s Day, mothers got those as gifts. This is a time of year, which Schmolinski herself remembers to have been difficult when she was a single mother.
Next, she made and delivered 69 cards and handwritten notes to the elderly in Smithfield Lodge who do not get visitors or mail frequently. This is something they are looking to turn into a annual campaign.
In June, with Schmolinski’s help single parents in the area were able to get a free oil change.
“I attended a seminar a few years back that talked about reaching out to the poor. Basically, when you’re trying to help someone, often times people end up hurting people. In a sense, you’re doing things for people that are fully capable of doing stuff for themselves, and they lose their dignity, their sense of pride.
“I don’t want that. We want to create human beings that are feeling useful and productive and part of society. When I took this workshop, I realized that this was already being done in Vancouver, in Edmonton,” said Schmolinski.
So for this second iteration of the free dinner, organized around Easter time at the Youth for Christ Centre in Westlock (a space which is now too small), the 75 attendees experienced things a little differently from the Christmas one.
“People that were coming to the dinner also came to help prepare the dinner, which was different. It wasn’t run by volunteers this time … People love the idea of coming out to help themselves. It’s not just a handout. It’s actually using people’s gifts and talents.”
On Thanksgiving, the idea will remain the same. Everybody can come help prepare the dinner, set the tables, stay for games and cards while the food is cooking.
“That’s my intention, to create a dinner club … where people are feeling valuable and worthwhile, that they can help out even in the smallest way.”
