Thousands flock to the UGM for Christmas dinner
Posted December 7, 2013 9:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Before the doors were even open, about 100 people lined up at the Union Gospel Mission for its 73rd annual Christmas Dinner.
Most in line were homeless, or at the very least down on their luck and are unable to afford a Christmas dinner of their own.
The warm atmosphere, friendly volunteers, and the hot meal brought Teresa McLean back for her third Christmas dinner at the facility.
She says she’s very grateful for the meal, but wants to remind people that hungry bellies and cold weather linger after the holiday season.
“There needs to be more shelters for the homeless [right now]. It’s very cold out here. There needs to be more help [for us] all year, instead of just Christmas or the holidays.”
Meanwhile inside making coffee for the thousands of hungry people, Frederic Pino, a volunteer for the UGM, claims a Christmas Dinner at the mission three years ago helped him turn his life around.
He moved to Vancouver with little money and an addiction to drugs and alcohol and entered an addictions program after his first Christmas dinner.
Pino explains how he wants to help provide inspiration, and that lots of people end up down on their luck.
“Each of these people, they could be anybody, they could be you tomorrow. That’s the way I see it, this could be anyone, a doctor a lawyer. I’ve seen them all.”
One hundred and sixty turkeys were carved to prepare the nearly 3,000 meals on East Hastings.
