Raul Jimenez Annual Thanksgiving Dinner

Volunteer registration will OPEN ON OCTOBER 29. There are limited available volunteer slots that will be filled on a first come-first serve basis. 

The Raul Jimenez Dinner is a San Antonio tradition! The dinner is coordinated by Patricia Jimenez, daughter of the late Raul Jimenez, who died in 1998. The event is held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and is staffed with approximately 3,000 volunteers. For more information about the event, visit www.rauljimenezdinner.com. 

The dinner founder, Raul Jimenez, died on Oct. 26, 1998. His daughter, Patricia Jimenez, took over as event chair and carries on the family tradition. Jimenez remembers her father's famous motto, "Dad was always saying, 'We come into this world with nothing, we leave with nothing. What counts is what we do in between. I believe in caring and sharing.' This is a custom we plan to continue." Texas restaurateur, Raul Jimenez, began a Thanksgiving tradition more than two decades ago by feeding 200 senior citizens in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1979, Jimenez moved the feast to San Antonio and served 5,000 elderly at his own expense. As the dinner grew, individuals and corporations asked how they could help. Now the dinner, the nation's largest Thanksgiving Day event of its kind, serves the needy as well as the elderly. The San Antonio community continues to support this long-established holiday event with more than 24,000 guests and 3,000 volunteers celebrating Thanksgiving together. With the support of sponsors and over 500 donors, each year continues to be a tremendous success.