INNISFAIL - For the first time Innisfail's Johns Manville will be holding a free turkey supper for the less fortunate and those who may be struggling this Christmas.
Johns Manville's Christmas supper will welcome families and individuals to enjoy a turkey meal on Dec. 19 at the Innisfail United Church. There will be two seating times, with the first at 5 p.m. and the second at 6:30 p.m.
Guests are asked to RSVP for the Christmas supper by Dec. 14.
“Our employees feel fortunate that they are working and they wanted to do something to give back to the community of Innisfail,” said Cathy Ouellette, human resources manager at Johns Manville. “The dinner is for the community of Innisfail, people perhaps down on their luck who need some companionship or a dinner at this time during the Christmas season. Our employees are donating all the food, the cooking, the serving and the cleanup.”
“We have two seatings and we can accommodate 150 people at each seating,” she added, noting they are encouraging all families and individuals that may need some help or companionship to come out and enjoy a free turkey supper.
“This is our first year that we thought we would try this,” said Ouellette, noting in the past the company has volunteered at a Red Deer charity organization. For this year, they insisted they want to give back to the community of Innisfail.
Employees of Johns Manville and their families will be volunteering during the Christmas supper, noted Ouellette.
“It will put some names to faces of Johns Manville employees,” she said. “Our employees here have a long history of providing community support and generosity to our community. This is just another way we thought we could help.”
Johns Manville is also giving back to the community through large donations to the Innisfail and District Christmas Bureau and the Innisfail and District Food Bank.
Those community donations have been a Christmastime tradition for more than 20 years.
“This year we raised $11,358.50 in cash for the Christmas Bureau,” said Ouellette. “The employees raised over $4,500 and Johns Manville matched donations. We also give any funds raised from our recycled metal to the Christmas Bureau.
“We also had $1,000 plus a truckload of food for the Innisfail and District Food bank,” said Ouellette. “We are like family here and people want to share their good fortune and some Christmas cheer. It's good to see that it extends out into the community.”
To RSVP for a spot at the Christmas supper email [email protected] or call 403-227-7186 by Dec. 14.
Cathy Ouellette
"Our employees feel fortunate that they are working and they wanted to do something to give back to the community of Innisfail."
