MORE THAN 300 people are expected to attend the Thanksgiving Day Community Dinner at St. John Roman Catholic Church in Westminster.

After nine years of sponsorship, Shepherd's Staff volunteers have preparations down to an art form.

Marshaling hundreds of volunteers this year is Westminster resident Rhonda Robinson, a retired schoolteacher who offered to help - "to stick a toe in to see what it would be like," she said.

She quickly found herself immersed.

This is the meal of all meals, with a donation list that includes 16 20-pound turkeys, a dozen 12-pound turkey breasts, 20 pounds of butter, 50 pounds of bread cubes, 10 industrial-size cans of sauerkraut and instant mashed potatoes, and 18 of the same size cans of corn and green beans.

The donation list is long, and the list of volunteers is longer, including cooks, carvers, coffee makers and servers. To make the day a success, transportation volunteers shuttle people to and from the meal, and drivers deliver meals to folks who can't get out. So far, 30 home deliveries have been requested.

The dinner has hosts and hostesses, a gift-bag team, a welcome table crew, and several committees.

"It has been a joy calling for volunteers, and it feels so good to help people," Robinson said "We're in pretty good shape. Everyone has a great attitude, and there are lots of families who volunteer for this dinner as a tradition."

Robinson said her job as volunteer coordinator will be complete once a few more people step forward to help deliver meals, wash dishes or help clean up.

Nonperishable goods such as paper products still are needed, Robinson said, as are items from a relatively small wish list that includes lemonade, coffee, tea, baked goods, apples, oranges, wrapped candy and nuts.

The dinner is from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 28.

"This Thanksgiving celebration is about people coming together like a family," said Kathy Brown, executive director of Shepherd's Staff. "It's for people who wake up that morning and might not be able to have a Thanksgiving in a place that feels like home.

"We try to offer the same environment they'd find in a home with a family, from the laughter to the leftovers," Brown said.

For the second consecutive year, turkeys for the annual feast will be cooked by Brown's husband, Charles Brown, and his staff at Glen Meadows Retirement Community in Glen Arm.

Volunteers like the Browns, Robinson and the hundreds of others who will gather at St. John's next week know that they are helping the community. But if any doubt lingered, these kind words that were sent in an unsigned letter to Shepherd's Staff after last year's celebration:

"I want to thank the two young ladies with the very warm, sincere smiles that took their holiday time with family and friends to make sure that I had a hot Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you. The dinner was great, and the warm hugs and smiles were an added plus."

To make donations or for information about volunteering: 410-857-5944.

Requests for services such as carryout meals, meal delivery and transportation should be made in advance by calling the same number.

Living Treasure

Westminster resident Kathy Brown honors Peggy Gurick, general manager of Admiral Cleaners in Westminster, as her Living Treasure this week.

"Peggy has cleaned and repaired hundreds of coats for the annual Call for Coats drive," Brown said. "It has been an enormous task, but she is using her business to reach out, to make sure that people in the community are warm in the winter."

Throughout this month, several local businesses are collecting donations of outerwear for infants, children and adults.

More than 400 coats have been collected and distributed through the drive, which is a partnership by Shepherd's Staff, Admiral Cleaners, TownMall of Westminster, and Edward Jones Inc.

Information on Call for Coats: 410-848-4339.

Brighten the day of someone who has made a positive difference in your life. Submit a name and specific reasons why that person has been your Living Treasure to Lisa Breslin, 35 Ridge Road, Westminster 21157, or 410-848-4703.

Lisa Breslin's Central Carroll neighborhood column appears each Monday in the Carroll County edition of The Sun.