The donations for the Wake Forest Police Department’s annual Turkey Drive have been slow, and Wake Forest town and area residents need to donate now because the deadline is Saturday, Nov. 20. The cops need enough money to be able to give away at least 800 turkeys on Tuesday, Nov. 23, and 900 would be better. The Wake Forest Police Department’s annual Turkey Drive got underway in September, but donations are coming in slower than usual. Area residents can support this worthy cause by submitting online donations via PayPal at http://bit.ly/WFPDTurkeyDrive. Cash and checks written to the Wake Forest Police Department (WFPD) are also accepted. Anyone wishing to contribute cash or check to this year’s Turkey Drive should email Officer K. Abshire at kabshire@wakeforestnc.gov. The police department will accept donations through Saturday, Nov. 20. All monetary donations will be used to purchase additional turkeys. On Saturday, Nov. 20, the police department will

There will be a yard sale on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Friendship Chapel Baptist Church to raise funds for Hope House on North Allen Road. * * * * Olive Branch Baptist Church will have its fifth annual Community Thanksgiving Lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24. It will be Drive-Thru, Take-Out and Delivery within eight miles. Face masks are required. The lunch is free to all. Seniors and elderly people who cannot pick up a lunch can have the meal delivered. Call the church at 919-556-7972 on that Wednesday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. to arrange for the delivery. The pastor is Larry Wilder. * * * * Raleigh spent a lot of money and time in creating the Horseshoe Farm Nature Park, which is off Ligon Mill Road very close to NC 401. Now there is a

A phone call from Santa Claus is on every child’s wish list. The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is making those wishes come true by offering “Calls from Santa” to kids ages 3-9 on Thursday, Dec. 2, from 6-8 p.m. Registration forms will be available online Saturday, Nov. 27, at http://bit.ly/WFCallsfromSanta and at the Joyner Park Community Center, 701 Harris Road, and Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Completed forms must be submitted online or received at the Joyner Park Community Center or Town Hall by 5 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 1. Telephone registrations will not be accepted. There is no cost to participate, but all calls must be local. For more information, call 919-435-9560 or email Recreation Program Superintendent Monica Lileton at mlileton@wakeforestnc.gov. To view our full array of holiday events and activities, including the Lighting of Wake Forest, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Christmas in Wake Forest.” #

The Town of Wake Forest has installed a “Letters for Santa” mailbox in Jones Plaza at the intersection of South White Street and East Jones Avenue. Children of all ages are invited to bring their letters to Santa’s Mailbox anytime between now and Friday, Dec. 24, for immediate delivery to the North Pole. No postage is required, but all letters should include a return address. In an effort to ensure the safety of Santa’s helpers who previously opened each letter individually, personal responses from Santa are not possible this year. However, the Town of Wake Forest has provided a letter from Santa that can be downloaded and personalized at https://bit.ly/WFLettersforSanta. For more information, contact Downtown Development Specialist Hallie Willis at 919-435-9430 or hwillis@wakeforestnc.gov.

After a year’s pause because of the pandemic, the in-person Wake Forest Community Christmas Dinner, the 74th, will be held this year, but due to COVID only half the usual number of tickets is being sold, 150 rather than 300. The dinner will be held on Monday, Dec. 6, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at The Forks Cafeteria. Tickets are $20 each for the buffet and available at The Forks Cafeteria, the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce and from local civic club members. The three community service awards – The Peggy Allen Lifetime Achievement Award, the Citizen of the Year and the Organization of the Year – will be presented, and there will be the usual raffle of the table decorations. Greg Harrington is this year’s chairman of the steering committee. Actually, there was a ceremony for the Christmas dinner in 2020. The members of the steering committee and Mayor