For more than 35 years, Helen Bechtold has been providing free Christmas dinner to seniors age 55 and up throughout the region. This year she's back at it again - and she could use community help.

"This year, more than ever, we need community donations," Bechtold said. "With the cost of living on the rise, help is needed more than ever."

Donations are needed for both the meal fixings and additional items given to the seniors such as hygiene products and paper products. For the meal, each senior will receive turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, a vegetable and a dessert.

Meals will be available for takeout only at the Hambones Social Club of the Columbia Borough Fire Department, 726 Manor St., Columbia, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 25.

Last year, Bechtold and other volunteers, including longtime cook Sis Luzader, distributed more than 100 meals, and Bechtold expects to do even more this year.

"There is definitely a need for this," she said. "The older population of this area is growing."

She emphasized that the meal and additional items are available to anyone age 55 and older, no matter their economic status.

"This is not only for low-income seniors," she said. "It's for everyone 55 and up who is alone on Christmas or who just doesn't feel like cooking. It's for anyone who wants to come out and talk with someone and spend some time with other people while they pick up their meal."

And although the meal is offered in Columbia, it is available for seniors anywhere.

"It's a community effort," Bechtold remarked. "It's not only for people in Columbia. It's for Lancaster, Maytown, Marietta, Washington Boro, anywhere in Lancaster County and beyond. I've had people from Virginia that come every year."

Bechtold worked for the Columbia Senior Center for more than two decades, and her desire to serve seniors continued after her retirement.

"Seniors need socialization," she said. "For a lot of people, Christmas Day is one of the hardest days of the year. This is a way to help."

Preparation for the meal begins weeks in advance when Luzader starts some of the dishes and freezes them, Bechtold said.

"Sis does all the cooking. I love to cook, but I'm not cooking for a hundred and some people," she said with a laugh. Instead, Bechtold takes care of soliciting donations and rallying volunteers to help.

"We have a great group of volunteers, some of whom have been here for a very long time," she said, calling out individuals including Robin and Jack Gamby and Chuck Kloidt. "We set up on Christmas Eve and have the Donegal wrestling team help out. They volunteer every year, and they've been doing that for so long."

Bechtold emphasized that the meal is just one way she works to support seniors. "If I have a senior who comes in that day and says, 'I need help,' I'm there to try to help them," she stated. "I try to connect them with community resources."

She's also started a group called Friends of Lancaster County for seniors who want to go out for lunch once a month.

Giving back to her community is just part of who she is, Bechtold said, adding that she sometimes feels like a celebrity when she's out in public.

"Every time I go downtown, people say, 'I know you! You're the Christmas lady!'" she said with a smile. "I give up part of my Christmas to do this, but it's to make others happy. We want to make an impact on the community."

Reservations are required to receive the Christmas meal, and they must be made by Monday, Dec. 16. To make a reservation or to donate to the project, call Bechtold at 717-342-2903 or Luzader at 717-475-2562. To learn more about Friends of Lancaster County, contact Bechtold.