A new sponsor has taken over as the main organizer of the 31st Annual Northern Kentucky Christmas Day Dinner, which hosts nearly 2,000 adults and children every year at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
The Sunday Morning Club, a Northern Kentucky social and philanthropic organization founded in 1937, has long been involved with serving the Christmas Day dinner. This year, however, the Club has taken over from Mental Health of Northern Kentucky, which was the original sponsor of the dinner.
“The Sunday Morning Club has been volunteering for the dinner since it originally started as a Thanksgiving dinner back in the 1980s,” said Sunday Morning Club member Tom Hall, a retired Covington firefighter. “Tom Steenken and the Mental Health association did a great job for years, so we are honored to take over.”
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.
“Volunteering on the dinner and helping people out makes you feel good,” Hall said. “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. It’s really for anyone who doesn’t have anywhere else to go on Christmas Day.”
They began raising money for various charities, and over the years have supported 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.
Along with Hall, club members active in the Christmas Dinner include Smokey Hatfield and Lynn Haney.
For more than 20 years Chuck McHale and his family have been volunteering their services by cooking Christmas Dinner for 2,000.
“This is how our family grew up, working at the Christmas Dinner. 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.”
The doors at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center will open at 9 a.m. and dinner will be served from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., during which Santa and Mrs. Claus will pose for photos with the children. All the children will receive toys and individuals and families will receive winter hats and gloves, blankets, scarves, groceries, personal care items and more.
Along with The Sunday Morning Club, McHale’s Events and Catering and the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, major contributors and sponsors are Masterpiece Creations, Remke Markets, Master Provisions, Kenton County Fiscal Court, Ironworkers Local 44, Toys for Tots, Busken Bakery, Road iD, PetSmart and Olive Garden.
The Sunday Morning Club