For 10 years Deneen Rose has organized an annual Christmas dinner for seniors, veterans and people in need, but this year's dinner may be the last.

Although the dinner received a $500 donation from the Wareham Police Department to cover some of this year’s costs, Rose said rising prices and an ever growing attendance continue to outpace support.

The dinner will be held on Dec. 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Multi-Service Center. Rose has already purchased seven turkeys and all the ingredients needed to serve mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and cranberry sauce to at least 125 people—the number who attended last year.

The event also receives donations, including coffee and tea from Wareham Starbucks, poinsettias for the tables from Home Depot, and desserts and baked goods from several community members each year.

The afternoon will also feature music performed by Angella Kronillis and an appearance from Santa with a showing from the Grinch “still in progress.”

“This is a passion of mine, I enjoy giving back, I enjoy seeing everybody enjoying themselves having a good time,” Rose said. “But the funding of the food, every year it gets more expensive. If we had more support we could continue to do it.”

Rose has found creative ways to try and fill the funding gaps. This year, supporters can purchase a raffle ticket with a chance to win a prize basket filled with alcohol, scratch-off’s, candy, clothes and more. Tickets are $5 for one and $10 for three and can be purchased by sending a Venmo payment to “drose0714” or Cash App to “deneenmarie.”

Rose first organized the dinner in 2013 after a friend recognized her work for the community through the Wareham VFW and asked her to do something to help homeless people.

The first dinner was held at the VFW, and Rose advertised it as being "for homeless people." She explained that the phrasing negatively affected attendance, resulting in more meals being delivered than people who came to eat.

“I didn’t really think before I put it out. But It didn’t really fit well with a lot of people because they don’t want to come up to the VFW knowing that it's for the homeless,” Rose said. “But when I changed the name to ‘people in need,’ we started to get more and more people every year.”

Other volunteers help Rose put the dinner together and several bring their children too.

“The seniors enjoy the kids and them helping out and giving back, it's great,” Rose said.

She said the dinner creates a light environment during a season that can be unhappy for some.

“I’ve been doing this for many many years and it makes me feel good," Rose said. “This kind of gives me something motivating and something positive to do even though there's a lot of negative in the world.”

To attend the dinner, those interested can contact Rose at 774-365-7459 by 5 p.m. on Dec. 7. Anyone interested in volunteering to help can reach her at the same phone number.