Jeff Turner, owner of In The Neighborhood Deli and Catering in Elgin, has been hosting a free Community Thanksgiving Dinner for eight years and counting on donations and volunteers to realize what has now become a tradition.

Turner eventually added Have a Heart Dinners that take place in February and Community Cookouts in the summer, but his dream to add a Christmas dinner for the community never seemed to gel until this year.

“He’s expressed many times that he’d like to do a Christmas Community Dinner,” said Eric Rubin, a management consultant who lives in Elgin and volunteers for Turner’s dinners.

Rubin decided to start the ball rolling this year.

“At the Thanksgiving dinner, I convinced Jeff to let me put up Christmas-decorated containers and we raised money from the volunteers to do a Christmas dinner,” Rubin said. “Jeff felt we had enough money so he announced we were going to have it.”

“It’s a great time to do it; we really need it,” Turner said. “It’s a community dinner, not just homeless, but people with large families that might not necessarily be able to feed everyone, the elderly and empty nesters. We’ve been trying to do one for a couple of years and finally it’s come to fruition.”

Unfortunately, a glitch appeared when word got around that the dinner was fully funded. In reality, the Community Christmas dinner was expected to cost $4,000 and has only reached $1,000 as of this writing. No cancellation is forthcoming, however.

“We’re scrambling here and we really need donations,” Turner said. “It will go on. I’ll pay for it myself if I have to.”

If Rubin has anything to say about it, however, Turner won’t have to reach into his pocket for the majority of offerings.

“I just try to help,” Rubin said. “I’m not a fundraiser, but I know people. Elgin has a lot of people who are kindhearted.”

The event will also need volunteers to serve the hearty meals.

“We’ll be serving turkey tetrazzini, ham, potatoes and vegetables, salad, bread, desserts, and beverages,” Turner said. Dessert contributions are sought, as well.

Rubin, who has volunteered with his sons David and Jacob over the years, suggests that working the event will leave families with fond holiday memories.

“I have two young kids. Having the opportunity to bring my young sons and watching them helping somebody who is struggling or homeless, kind of put tears in their eyes. These things mean the world,” he said.

When it comes down to it, the Community Dinner depends on what the community decides to put into it. Rubin thinks of it as similar to the perennial Christmas favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where a local man finds redemption through the unexpected generosity of his neighbors and friends.

“He (Turner) brings ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ to Elgin and he’s like Jimmy Stewart,” Rubin said. “It really is a wonderful life,” he added.

Volunteers can help out with three different shifts for the event: Setup and food prep from 8 to 10:30 a.m.; food service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and service and teardown from 1 to 3 p.m. Call (847) 888-9486 for more information.

Monetary donations are accepted, in person or via mail at In The Neighborhood Deli, c/o Community Dinner, 185 Edison Ave., Elgin, IL 60123. Make checks payable to Elgin Community Network, with “Community Dinners” in the memo.

Dessert donations are accepted until 3 p.m. Friday at In the Neighborhood Deli, or until 11 a.m. Saturday at the Hemmens, 45 Symphony Way.