KINGWOOD, W.Va. — When Prestonians break bread at an annual Christmas Day feast, they are also helping warm the hearts and homes of their neighbors.
“This year it was the best year ever as far as serving people. We served 565 people in 4 hours and raised $8,900,” said community dinner volunteer Robert Gidley, III.
While the rest of Kingwood is in holiday mode and traffic in town is sparse, on December 25, Monroe’s Deli on East Main Street could use a revolving door.
That is the site of a free holiday meal for the less fortunate.
“It’s a great tradition, and it gives a lot of people an opportunity who would be sitting home alone for Christmas to be out. We serve a lot of people who wouldn’t have a Christmas dinner,” Gidley explained. “We did over 200 dinners to go. It’s a great experience for everyone involved.”
For some dinner-goers, it’s a no-fuss holiday meal with no clean up and good company all for the price of a donation to Heat for Preston.
“It’s an organization started by some people in the community decades ago to help the less fortunate buy fuel oil or propane to get through the winter because we all know these Preston County winters can be brutal,” Gidley noted.
Heat for Preston dates back to 2004. Money collected through the annual holiday meal is dispersed through Kingwood Southern Baptist Church. Families who need help apply. If the application is accepted, Heat for Preston gives the money directly to the utility company or the vendor for propane, wood or gas.
The fundraiser continues to grow. Heat for Preston expected to help 160 to 170 families with the $7,065 raised last year.
Gidley signed on to volunteer for an early shift year taking his sister, Dia, and son, Roby, with him this year.
“We sent our first delivery out. My sister took it at ten after eleven. We never stopped until about 2:30 we got a little break. Everything started winding down.”
The community Christmas dinner is now a 10-year-old tradition.
“It’s a wonderful experience. It’s my favorite part of Christmas. It makes me proud to be from Preston County,” expressed Gidley.
The meal is provided through donations. Everything that is raised through the dinner goes directly to the Heat for Preston fund.