It is with heavy hearts that we must inform you of our decision not to hold Operation Big Turkey this year. The damn virus has bested us once again.

It's hard to imagine that our first OBT was seventeen long years ago. Hard to imagine because some of you getting this message today were too young to have an email address back then. That’s how long and how meaningful Operation Big Turkey has been for all of us. And by all of us I mean you – amazing volunteers – but also all our guests over these many years.

Our guests have been diverse and have come to us for many different reasons: new Canadians, old Canadians, some troubled, some living on the street, other just wanting conversation. All our guests came to OBT because you made it warm and accepting and non-judgemental.
And you being the amazing beautiful hosts that you are not only provided our guests with a delicious from-scratch meal but you sat with them and communed in this most joyous of experiences that you can do over a plate of food.

​It was not an easy decision but we feel the logistics of making sure everyone is double vaccinated (or worse having to turn someone away into the cold because they’re not) was too cumbersome to be effective. Safety has to be our first concern. Luckily, there are other places for someone to get a meal on Christmas Eve. In closing, we would wish you good health and happiness over the holidays.
​We hope to see you in 2022.
Be well
Chris & Dave

We wanted to let you know that we have suspended Operation Big Turkey this Christmas because of the COVID pandemic.
As a valued member of the OBT family, you know that this event was more than just providing a free meal on Christmas Eve. At its heart, OBT is about joyous, selfless commune. It is about people coming together and sharing not only dinner, but also shining moments of love and connection. In this matter, our volunteers are as sated as our guests.
Alas, we did not see a clear path forward this year without risking someone getting sick.
In the meantime we’re going to channel our inner-elves and spread some holiday cheer without spreading anything else.
We have one wish for you this Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza/Solstice, and that is good health for everyone you love.
We will be back next year. See you then.
Ho Ho Ho
Chris & David

Time has flown by! Fifteen years ago, it all started with a small group of volunteers with a vision to feed our great community on Christmas Eve. As we prepare for this year’s feast, we wanted to count down by sharing 15 facts about Operation Big Turkey.
​Check out our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/operationbigturkeyottawa) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/operationbigturkey/) to learn more about us. 
 
If you’re looking to get involved with Operation Big Turkey, check out our previous blog post (https://www.operationbigturkey.org/updates/want-to-help-check-this-out) to find out how one small act can make a big impact. 

Hey Ottawa! Are you looking to help out and spread some cheer this Christmas Eve?

We’re less than a month away from Ottawa’s biggest and most delicious Christmas Eve turkey feast! This year marks Operation Big Turkey’s 15th anniversary and we’re calling on everyone in Ottawa to help spread some cheer. Unfortunately, we hear about some community members missing out on this wonderful meal, which is why we’re asking all of Ottawa to give us a hand this year. 
 
Here are 5 ways that you can help out with Operation Big Turkey: 
 
1.   Accompany someone or a group to one of the locations. 
Operation Big Turkey is a community meal and we welcome everyone! There are some folks in our city who need transportation or who don’t want to attend on their own. Bring them out and share a really great meal! It’s sure to make their day extra special. We have four locations.
(link: https://www.operationbigturkey.org/locations.html) 
 
2.  Tell your online friends 
Share our Facebook post with your friends, local groups and pages
(link: https://www.facebook.com/operationbigturkeyottawa/posts/2550755318502271) 
 
3.  Word of mouth 
Tell EVERYONE about Operation Big Turkey. Your neighbours, someone who is new to the community, friends, acquaintances, family, dog walker, cashier at your favourite store - everyone! 
 
4. Put up a Poster
Do you have a board at a local store, shelter, place of worship, recreation facility or community centre? Get in touch with our head Elf !
​(link: mailto:operationbigturkey@gmail.com) and we can provide you with a poster that you can put up! 
 
5. Use our hashtag #OperationBigTurkey 
When you’re tweeting or posting about us, use our hashtag to increase our discoverability on social media!  
 

We're baaaaaack!
Please see below location information for 2019 (new spiffy poster to come...)

Carlington Recreation Centre
1520 Caldwell Avenue
Dinner hours: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Location info HERE

Overbook Community Centre
33 Quill Street, Ottawa
Dinner hours: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location info HERE

Restaurant E18hteen 
18 York Street (Byward Market)
Dinner hours: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Location info HERE

Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre
102 Greenview Avenue, Ottawa
Dinner Hours: 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
​Location info HERE

Jack Purcell Community Centre
320 Jack Purcell Lane, Ottawa
Dinner hours: 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Location info HERE ​

We would like to send a big THANK YOU to everyone for their interest in volunteering, and let you know that we no longer need volunteers at any of the community centres. You guys rock!
We do however still need volunteers at Algonquin College for clean-up duty in the morning on the 23rd and the 24th. Please let us know if you are interested.  - OBT team

Volunteer opportunities! Please take a look and let us know if you want to be part of the OBT 2017 team...
 
SITE VOLUNTEERS
The majority of our volunteers are needed at the dinner sites.
Roles include:
·  set up: tables/chairs, decorating, organization)
·  front of house: greeting, seating, taking orders, serving meals/drinks, meeting and talking with our guests and making them feel at home!
·  back of house: plating, cleanup/dishes, cutting cake. Yum.
·  tear down: stacking tables and chairs, ensuring the place is as neat as we found it!
 
Our 7 amazing locations are as follows:
 
Overbrook Community Centre 
33 Quill Street (off Donald north of Queen Mary) 
2:00 to 4:00 PM
 
Hunt Club Riverside Community Centre  
3320 Paul Anka Dr (near McCarthy and Hunt Club)
2:30 to 4:30 PM
 
Carlington Recreation Centre 
1520 Caldwell Ave (off Merivale Road north of Baseline)
3:30 to 5:30 PM
 
Foster Farms Community Centre 
1065 Ramsey Crescent (near Pincrest and the Queensway)
3:30 to 5:30 PM
 
Ron Kolbus Centre,
102 Greenview (Britannia Park) 
3:30 to 6:00 PM
 
Albion Heatherington Recreation Centre, 
1560 Heatherington Road (off Albion)
3:00 to 5:00 PM
 
Jack Purcell Community Centre, 
320 Jack Purcell Lane (near Elgin and Gilmour)
3:30 to 6:30 PM
 
To make best use of volunteers we’ll ask some of you to arrive an hour early to help with the set up, and most of you to stay for 1/2 hour after closing to tear down and clean up. It’s Christmas Eve after all! We need to get home for some well-deserved eggnog. More details to follow.
 
 FOOD PREPARATION
Once again we plan to be at Algonquin College, 1385 Woodrooffe Ave Block H, Philip Dileen Hospitality Building on Friday, December 23 from about 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and Sunday, December 24th from about 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM. There are very few spots required here. We need adults with some experience in food preparation and in handling a knife.
 
LOADING THE TRUCKS IN THE MORNING
Several strong bodies needed to help load the trucks at Algonquin College. This will take about 1 hour of your time in the late morning of Christmas Eve. Volunteers for this task can also volunteer at one of the sites to serve food.
 
CLEANING CREW AT ALGONQUIN
We need some meticulous angels that will take on the cleanup tasks at Algonquin College as the food is loaded on the trucks. A crew is required for each late morning of the 23rd and the 24th.  One can volunteer for one or both days as well as volunteering for one of the sites to serve food. Estimated timing will be from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM on both the 23rd and the 24th.
 
FOOD DELIVERY
We need 2 sets of strong hands for each of our 2 trucks (soooooo, 2 people per truck) to deliver the food from Algonquin to each of the sites and to pick up the leftovers afterward. This is a full day job on the 24th, starting in late morning (about 11:00 AM) and ending about 7pm. Transportation will be provided, if needed, to get you to Algonquin and then back home from the last site. 
 
COMMUNITY FLYERS
Volunteers needed for an afternoon or evening at each of the sites (not including Jack Purcell) to deliver flyers to homes in the neighbourhood. The exact time and day will depend on the availability of the volunteers. Let us know if you would be willing to help!
 
Sign up as a volunteer in the contact section, Please let us know ASAP as we are forced to turn warm-hearted people away every year. 
 
If you are responding on behalf of more than one person, please make sure you include everyone’s name. Also, let us know if you are able to speak French. It will help to have a few French speaking volunteers at each site.
 
 
That’s it for now. We look forward to hearing from you!

- OBT TEAM