Annual To Stratford With Love holiday dinner a community effort for 36 years

To the To Stratford With Love free Christmas banquet returns to the Stratford Rotary Complex for its 36th year Dec. 14.

With as many as 250 volunteers who sign up to help with picking up food and supplies, baking pies, setup, serving dinners, cleanup and takedown at the end of the night, Simple Dreams Ministries’ annual To Stratford With Love free holiday banquet has been a community effort unlike any other for the past 36 years.

This year’s event, which is intended to spread warmth and cheer among Stratford and area residents of all kinds, will be at the Stratford Rotary Complex beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 14. At no cost to those who attend, the banquet will feed as many as 800 pre-registered diners a roast-beef dinner with all the fixings and a slice of one of dozens of homemade pies donated by community members. The Stratford Concert Band and Upside of Maybe are also on hand year after year to provide the live musical entertainment.

To pull off an event this large, the volunteer support is crucial. Luckily, volunteering either before, after or during the banquet has become an annual holiday tradition for many local families.

“It really has become a tradition in the community,” said Simple Dreams co-founder Richard Kneider who, along with wife Ruth Kneider and their three daughters, has been orchestrating the To Stratford With Love Banquet since its inception. “ … I got a phone call several days ago, and it was from a gentleman who was a grandfather. He and his granddaughter went a couple of years ago to the dinner, and the granddaughter at that time was eight years old.

“She was really impressed and moved by what was going on, so she went and told her grandfather that she wanted to volunteer at the dinner and wanted to know what would be involved for them to volunteer. … It’s just different stories like that one that really make this event possible.”

This year, Ruth Kneider spoke with a few of the people who volunteered at the dinner for the first time last year. She said they each told her how it felt good to be part of a team that can make that difference for so many people during the holiday season. Another volunteer told Ruth Kneider she volunteered with her neighbours to help set up and tear down the event, something they all enjoyed immensely and look forward to continuing in years to come.

Local pastor and Stratford Police Service chaplain Charlie Swartwood has been volunteering at To Stratford With Love alongside the Kneiders for its entire 36-year history, and he echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To me, To Stratford With Love means community and connection. Community means anyone can come and be included. Connection means a time for Stratford to come together and meaningfully connect with each other and God, and focus on the Christ in Christmas,” Swartwood shared.

While volunteer spots for To Stratford With Love tend to fill fast, especially for those hoping to volunteer as part of the dinner service, the Kneiders are still in need of people to bake and donate homemade pies, and to help with cleaning up and tearing down afterwards.

To volunteer for To Stratford With Love or to register for the dinner, visit tostratfordwithlove.ca.