For the 32nd year, The Annual Northern Kentucky Christmas Day Dinner sponsored by the Sunday Morning Club will take place at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington.
More than 400 volunteers will serve a holiday dinner to as many as 2,000 needy families and individuals in the community. Children will visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus and receive toys, while children and adults will receive blankets, scarves, groceries, personal care items, vegetables, and more.
File photo from a previous dinner
The Sunday Morning Club has long been involved with the dinner and took over as the main organizer of the Northern Kentucky Christmas Day Dinner last year. Previously, the Northern Kentucky Mental Health Association was the primary organizer.
This year’s dinner is dedicated to Tom Stanken, a founding member and director of the Christmas Day Dinner. Steenken passed away April 23.
Sunday Morning Club member Tom Hall, a retired Covington firefighter said last year the organization was honored to take on the sponsorship role.
“The Sunday Morning Club has been volunteering for the dinner since it originally started as a Thanksgiving dinner back in the 1980s,” said Hall. “Tom Steenken and the Mental Health association did a great job for years.”
Earlier this year, the Sunday Morning Club presented Tom’s family with a plaque commemorating his involvement and dedication to the event.
The Sunday Morning Club was founded in 1937, following the repeal of Prohibition. Bar owners, bar tenders, waitresses, politicians and others would meet at local Northern Kentucky bars, which could not serve alcohol until 1 p.m. on Sundays.
Hall says volunteering on the dinner and helping people out makes you feel good.
“A lot of underprivileged people and families get a great meal, toys, groceries and more, but it’s not just for the homeless or for poor people,” Hall said. “It’s really for anyone who doesn’t have anywhere else to go on Christmas Day.”
The Sunday Morning Club has raised money for various charities over the years including The Northern Kentucky Children’s Home, The Protestant Children’s Home, The Diocese of Covington, Care Net, Good Guys Club of Walton, Kelly Elementary, the Indigent Home for Ladies and more.
Santa and Mrs. Claus are among the annual hosts for the Northern Kentucky Christmas Day Dinner
For more than 20 years Chuck McHale and his family have volunteered to cook the Christmas Day dinner.
McHale has said his family grew up cooking Christmas dinner, so it comes naturally.
This is always Christmas for us,” said McHale, president of McHale’s Events and Catering. “Now, along with my wife, it’s our kids and their spouses and boyfriends along with some of our staff. It’s always a great event and a great way to give back.”
Doors will open Christmas Day at 9 a.m. and dinner will be served from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Major sponsors and contributors are: The Northern Convention Center; Sunday Morning Club; Remke Markets; Masterpiece Creations; Ironworkers Local 44; McHales Events and Catering; Kenton County Fiscal Court; Busken Bakery; Road iD; Master Provisions; PetSmart; Kurks Natural;Master Provisions; Perfetti van Melle; Reinhardt Food Service; Scarf It Up; TANK; Salvation Army; Burr Travis; Tressa Inc.; 3DX Scenic; Walt’s Business Solutions; Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus; and Olive Garden.
The Northern Kentucky Convention Center is located at 1 W. River Center Blvd in Covington.
Sunday Morning Club
