Charitable organizations have received an outpouring of the aloha spirit for Thanksgiving, forcing them to turn away a stream of residents offering to help cook and serve meals for the needy, seniors and others.

"We had to cut it off 10 days ago," said Maj. Fred Rasmussen, divisional secretary of business and finance of Salvation Army’s Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division, adding that volunteers started signing up in mid-October to take part in production and presentation of the annual holiday feast.

Hundreds statewide of volunteers will be involved in Thursday’s prepping and serving up of roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, pumpkin pie and other Thanksgiving goodies.

For the Salvation Army about 850 people will volunteer at the 43rd annual Thanksgiving event at Neal Blaisdell Center. At noon Thursday free meals will be served for people in need or without fellowship, said Rasmussen. Volunteers might still be needed at Salvation Army’s neighbor island sites where the organization will serve about 3,000 meals.

At the River of Life Mission in Chinatown, actor Daniel Dae Kim, who plays the character Chin Ho Kelly on the popular television show "Hawaii Five-0," will be among the 75 to 100 volunteers serving meals, starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. The organization plans to feed about 500 people at 101 N. Pauahi St. and another 500 meals at three homes for seniors in Honolulu, said operations director Shervelle Gardner.

While officials at the nonprofit organizations appreciate the swell of enthusiasm for volunteer work during the holiday season, they’re also asking people to consider signing up for service at other times in the new year.

"We always need volunteers for other days of the year," said Gardner.

At the Institute for Human Services in Iwilei, Koa Pancake House will serve a hot breakfast, and dinner will be served by Hilton Hawaiian Village.

More than 30 hotel staff will help serve dinner at IHS at 350 Sumner St. starting at 2 p.m. Volunteers plan to serve an estimated 300 to 400 people. Students and faculty of Saint Louis School also will provide peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for a light lunch. "It’s all about the family spirit and giving back," said Principal Patricia Hamamoto. Students have donated money, jars of peanut butter and jelly, and loaves of bread. The school will be accepting additional jars and bread until 2 p.m. today at the school’s main office at Bertram Hall.

Lanakila Meals on Wheels plans to include more than 200 volunteers in the kitchen prep and delivery of meals to more than 650 homebound, low-income seniors on Oahu, the organization’s spokeswoman Marlena Willette said.

"It’s really so much more than the meal. It’s the holiday visit and brightening the day for our kupuna," Willette said. "A visit from our volunteer might be the only person they see on Thanksgiving."

Many seniors who benefit from the program are in their 80s, live alone and suffer from multiple chronic conditions.