The dinner has been included in the eighth grade curriculum as a way to teach community service, said eighth grade team leader and technology teacher Brad Smith.

The annual dinner will be held Thursday, Nov. 15 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Cooperstown Middle-High School Cafeteria. It is free and open to all retired residents of the district and retired Cooperstown faculty and staff.

``A lot of hard work goes into an event like this,’’ said Smith, who has been a teacher at CCS for 15 years.

Students have written letters inviting retired residents of the Cooperstown Central School District and retired Cooperstown faculty and staff and are in the process of making a welcoming sign and placemats, according to Smith.

The students will begin to meet after school three days before the night of the dinner to help start preparing and cooking the meal, said Smith.

Takeout meals and deliveries are available for those senior citizens unable to attend. If interested in having a parent volunteer and his or her daughter bring you a meal, call Denise Thayer at 547-5512 by Friday, Nov. 9. Smith said students will MapQuest each person’s address to know where to deliver the meals.

``We are hoping to make the kids aware that community service is important in our community.’’

Smith said the event typically attracts 200 to 225 people, which includes the takeout meals. During the dinner, students wait on tables, run coat checks, and meet and greet the senior citizens.

``It (the dinner) allows us to teach the students things they don’t get to learn in everyday classes,’’ said Smith. ``It gives them exposure to things such as manners, good work ethics and volunteering.’’

Smith said the dinner is a volunteer project and students cannot be forced to participate. However, he said the event usually gets a good showing of both students and parents, which makes things run pretty smoothly. Last year, about 30 parents volunteered their services, according to Smith. He also said generally 40 to 50 students out of approximately 90 eighth graders volunteer after school.

This event will be eighth grader Natalie Reich’s first time providing community service. Reich said she has signed up to be a server. She said the class is just at the beginning stages of planning, and so far all she has done for preparation is look for designs for the program that will be handed out to the diners when they arrive.

Eighth grader Ben Breiten said he signed up to be a greeter.

``I really want to meet all the people that used to work at CCS,’’ he said.

Breiten said he has volunteered at other community events such as PumpkinFest and AppleFest.

Another way students can get involved is by providing entertainment at the event, said Smith.

Smith said the dinner will include foods typically served for Thanksgiving including turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pies and beverages. The dinner is made possible through a collective effort of volunteers at the school and parent volunteers, according to Smith. He also said the dinner is a success because of the many donations from local stores and a variety of teachers. He said the Parent Teacher Organization usually donates turkeys.

To be sure the class will have the proper amount of food for the dinner, call Denise Thayer at 547-5512 by Friday, Nov. 9 to make reservations or to order a delivery.