JAMS FAMILY CHRISTMAS DINNER
Donation protected
JAMS FAMILY CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER
My name is Sandy Johnson. I am the matriarch of the Spencer family who have run the dinner for the past 13yrs. In 2003 my husband Daryl passed away from a massive aneurysm at the age of 44. I was left with 3 children aged 8, 14 and 16. My husband and I had always loved the idea of a soup kitchen and in his memory my children and I opened up a small restaurant for families to come and spend time together. We called this restaurant the JAMS Family Fun Center. The acronym JAMS is the first letter for each of my girls names as well as my own. Jen, Ali, Mikki, Sandy. At Christmas that first year, we did not feel like celebrating due to our grief so we decided to make a new memory.
On Christmas Day we hosted 53 people for Christmas Dinner in our restaurant. These people were folks like us who had either lost someone or were going to spend Christmas Day alone. Several people in our community donated food or cash to buy food so we could offer the meal for free. It was such a huge success that we decided to make it a yearly event. We ended up closing the restaurant the next year but have continued to host the dinner at a local hall since then. We decorate with lights, tables with red tablecloths and white lace and placemats. We use real dinnerware and fancy decorations. Most years we have volunteers come to sing Christmas carols and have even had a busker walk through the crowd with his guitar singing. We have added door prizes to the mix which are usually wrapped or in gift bags. People love it and look so happy.
When we first started it was slow going because people thought our dinner was for the homeless or the downtrodden. We have managed to get the word across that it is for ANYONE who is going to spend Christmas alone. We now have individuals ranging in age from babies to folks in their 90s and from many different socio-economic areas. We have also added home deliveries to shut ins. Since the beginning people would not come for free so they insisted on paying. We suggested a price of 7 dollars the first year and have since moved to 10 dollars. Anyone who cannot afford to pay is free of charge. Over the past 13yrs we have hosted well over 1000 people for Christmas Dinner. We have also raised several thousand dollars when people pay for their meals, which we donate back into the community each year.
Since that first Christmas we have hosted 11 dinners. Each year individuals in the community donate cash so we can buy what we need to host the dinner. Since the inception we have accumulated the equipment necessary to host the dinner in its entirety. We have linens, cooking equipment, warming buffets, dishes etc. We did this so that we would have everything in one place.
When it comes to volunteers we have been very blessed. Even on Christmas Day there are folks willing to leave their families to come and help. We even have one family who do not attend the dinner but come to wash dishes at the end of the meal. That’s a lot of dishes!! It would be difficult to name all of the donors as there have been so many over the years. We currently receive approx $400 from the Wholesale Store, free use of the Hall which alone is usually $700 per day, personal donors who drop checks off in our mailbox, and others too numerous to mention.
My girls have been amazing. They have been doing this since their teens and all now have spouses of their own. All of these kids have dedicated (some say given up but we don’t see it that way) their Christmas’ to host our family dinner. My 5 grandchildren have never known a Christmas without JAMS. I am very proud of them. Even my new husband of 5yrs has gotten into the spirit. His mother even came to help one year. JAMS Christmas Day dinner has become a legacy that we intend to continue.
The reason we have started this page is because there is one thing that would help make Christmas a little less hectic and physically exhausting for us. We currently house at least 50 totes and boxes in our basement. It is very crowded and hard to get to. Each year we have to form an assembly line going out of the lower level in our basement, up the stairs, out the door and into the back of our trucks. We hoist these boxes hand over hand until all are loaded into the truck. It is extremely physically taxing. At the end of a very long couple days we then have to form that same line when we get back to the house on Christmas day to bring everything back in. By the time we are done we are so exhausted we don’t even feel like celebrating our own Christmas. What we are hoping to do is acquire a small trailer that we can put these boxes in permanently. This way each year we would simply hook up the trailer and go to the hall. What a blessing that would be! We had to cancel last years dinner because my husband, daughter and I had all had orthopedic surgeries and we were unable to perform these tasks. If it should ever happen again (as we all age) we would be able to hand the trailer over to volunteers with minimal fanfare. So if you can help in any way we would appreciate it more than you know. The money raised in this campaign will go towards the trailer and this years dinner. Take care and thanks for your support.
My name is Sandy Johnson. I am the matriarch of the Spencer family who have run the dinner for the past 13yrs. In 2003 my husband Daryl passed away from a massive aneurysm at the age of 44. I was left with 3 children aged 8, 14 and 16. My husband and I had always loved the idea of a soup kitchen and in his memory my children and I opened up a small restaurant for families to come and spend time together. We called this restaurant the JAMS Family Fun Center. The acronym JAMS is the first letter for each of my girls names as well as my own. Jen, Ali, Mikki, Sandy. At Christmas that first year, we did not feel like celebrating due to our grief so we decided to make a new memory.
On Christmas Day we hosted 53 people for Christmas Dinner in our restaurant. These people were folks like us who had either lost someone or were going to spend Christmas Day alone. Several people in our community donated food or cash to buy food so we could offer the meal for free. It was such a huge success that we decided to make it a yearly event. We ended up closing the restaurant the next year but have continued to host the dinner at a local hall since then. We decorate with lights, tables with red tablecloths and white lace and placemats. We use real dinnerware and fancy decorations. Most years we have volunteers come to sing Christmas carols and have even had a busker walk through the crowd with his guitar singing. We have added door prizes to the mix which are usually wrapped or in gift bags. People love it and look so happy.
When we first started it was slow going because people thought our dinner was for the homeless or the downtrodden. We have managed to get the word across that it is for ANYONE who is going to spend Christmas alone. We now have individuals ranging in age from babies to folks in their 90s and from many different socio-economic areas. We have also added home deliveries to shut ins. Since the beginning people would not come for free so they insisted on paying. We suggested a price of 7 dollars the first year and have since moved to 10 dollars. Anyone who cannot afford to pay is free of charge. Over the past 13yrs we have hosted well over 1000 people for Christmas Dinner. We have also raised several thousand dollars when people pay for their meals, which we donate back into the community each year.
Since that first Christmas we have hosted 11 dinners. Each year individuals in the community donate cash so we can buy what we need to host the dinner. Since the inception we have accumulated the equipment necessary to host the dinner in its entirety. We have linens, cooking equipment, warming buffets, dishes etc. We did this so that we would have everything in one place.
When it comes to volunteers we have been very blessed. Even on Christmas Day there are folks willing to leave their families to come and help. We even have one family who do not attend the dinner but come to wash dishes at the end of the meal. That’s a lot of dishes!! It would be difficult to name all of the donors as there have been so many over the years. We currently receive approx $400 from the Wholesale Store, free use of the Hall which alone is usually $700 per day, personal donors who drop checks off in our mailbox, and others too numerous to mention.
My girls have been amazing. They have been doing this since their teens and all now have spouses of their own. All of these kids have dedicated (some say given up but we don’t see it that way) their Christmas’ to host our family dinner. My 5 grandchildren have never known a Christmas without JAMS. I am very proud of them. Even my new husband of 5yrs has gotten into the spirit. His mother even came to help one year. JAMS Christmas Day dinner has become a legacy that we intend to continue.
The reason we have started this page is because there is one thing that would help make Christmas a little less hectic and physically exhausting for us. We currently house at least 50 totes and boxes in our basement. It is very crowded and hard to get to. Each year we have to form an assembly line going out of the lower level in our basement, up the stairs, out the door and into the back of our trucks. We hoist these boxes hand over hand until all are loaded into the truck. It is extremely physically taxing. At the end of a very long couple days we then have to form that same line when we get back to the house on Christmas day to bring everything back in. By the time we are done we are so exhausted we don’t even feel like celebrating our own Christmas. What we are hoping to do is acquire a small trailer that we can put these boxes in permanently. This way each year we would simply hook up the trailer and go to the hall. What a blessing that would be! We had to cancel last years dinner because my husband, daughter and I had all had orthopedic surgeries and we were unable to perform these tasks. If it should ever happen again (as we all age) we would be able to hand the trailer over to volunteers with minimal fanfare. So if you can help in any way we would appreciate it more than you know. The money raised in this campaign will go towards the trailer and this years dinner. Take care and thanks for your support.
Organizer
Sandy Spencer Johnson
Organizer
Weyburn, SK