By TIM KELLY
“We had a lot of little angels helping us,” Jennifer Bowman said. “And a few big angels too.”
And with that, Bowman, one of the organizers of Ocean City’s Community Christmas Dinner, proclaimed the event financially fit for its 30th Annual edition, and ready to begin preparation for the big day.
The Community Christmas Dinner is designed to provide a holiday dinner for those in need: those in need of a good solid meal; those in need of a place to go for dinner on Christmas; and those in need of a way to volunteer and help their fellow community members.
The event will take place on Christmas day from noon to 3 p.m. at St. Peter’s Methodist Church, 501 east 8th Street.
In a recent OCNJDaily interview, Bowman announced the annual dinner was in need of financial help to remain solvent and to be sustainable in the years ahead.
The article had barely launched into cyberspace when Bowman’s phone blew up.
“We started getting some really good phone calls,” she said, laughing.
One call in particular got her attention immediately. “I picked up the phone and the person said ‘Hold on, I have your Mayor on the line.’ I was stunned.”
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian was indeed on the line. “Jennifer, what do you need?”
“I told him we really need a new refrigerator,” she said.
“OK, I’m going to buy you one from (a local appliance store),” Gillian replied.
Bowman thanked the Mayor, but with a caution. “I told him what we need is a heavy duty commercial grade” fridge, not one off a showroom floor.
“OK then,” Gillian said. “I’m going to buy you one.”
Bowman could scarcely believe what she was hearing, or the phone call she received next from a supplier of restaurant equipment: telling her the new appliance would arrive later this week, in time to be used for this year’s dinner.
A call seeking comment from the Mayor was placed Wednesday afternoon and not returned in time for this article.
“The Mayor’s personal commitment to this event and his generosity are nothing short of remarkable, Bowman said. “We’re talking about a $1,800 refrigerator.”
It didn’t stop there. Ocean City resident Michael Allegretto Sr. approached Bowman and said he wanted to make a significant donation to cover an aspect of the event. At Bowman’s suggestion Allegretto said he would work with Ward’s Bakery to pay for much of the cost of desserts.
And then there were the smaller, individual donations which had totaled more than $2,000 on Tuesday.
The other big storyline of this year’s event is the 30th anniversary event will be the last one organized by it’s co-founders Peaches and Mike Lukens of Ocean City.
The couple have relocated to Cape May and have found it difficult to handle many of the details involved from such a distance.
“I really wish we could keep going. I wish we didn’t have to give it up,” Mike said. “The thing is, we’ve always tried to keep everything local with our suppliers and donors. I could run to a lot of places because they’re mostly all in town. It’s just not possible to operate at that level over the phone.”
However, when people heard about the transition the event is going through, there were plenty of volunteers willing to help out any way they could to fill the void.
“It’s very inspiring and gratifying to see how people have stepped up,” said Bowman.
Just another bit of Christmas magic, Ocean City style.
