Our Purpose and History
During the holiday season, many senior citizens are alone and cannot afford to prepare a holiday meal for themselves. In 1979, San Antonio restaurant owner and businessman, Raul Jimenez, recognized this need in his community and established a Thanksgiving Day event designed to serve these forgotten individuals.
Now in its 44th year, the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner continues to provide senior citizens and less fortunate a place to enjoy a hot and nutritious turkey dinner with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Day. Held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio, the event invites seniors to dine at a “community dinner table”, celebrate the holiday with their peers, and enjoy live music and entertainment.
The Dinner currently serves over 25,000 senior and needy citizens from San Antonio and the surrounding areas and has grown to be one of the largest Thanksgiving benefits in the country.
Our Community
The Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner is a San Antonio tradition that brings the whole community together.
Over 4,000 volunteers work to make this event possible. Volunteer Committee Members assist project management with the coordination of transportation, food preparation and service, beverages, decorations, event-day volunteers, entertainment, security, and clean-up.
Community and corporate volunteers assist with food preparation event week. Area school districts contribute student-made table decorations and hundreds of students help decorate the convention center. On Thanksgiving Day, volunteers gather to greet dinner guests, prepare and serve meals, and clean up at the end of the day.
This tradition is only possible with the assistance of corporate sponsors, foundations, local businesses, and private donors. Currently over 50 area companies provide goods and services to this worthy cause.Underwriters for the event include Wal-mart, The RK Group, Starbucks, CPS Energy, Tesoro Energy Corporation to name a few.
The City of San Antonio, a sponsor since its inception, contributes the use of the Convention Center exhibit halls and kitchen facilities needed to host the event.
Other sponsors include Mrs. Baird’s Bread who contributes over 25,000 servings of bread while Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Big Red provide beverages.
Local musicians also donate their talents to provide live entertainment for our dinner guests.
Media
The San Antonio media plays a tremendous part in inviting Dinner guests, recruiting volunteers, and generating community financial support. All major English and Spanish print and electronic media provide story coverage throughout the month of November with special focus on Thanksgiving week.