Dinner/auction benefiting Children's Craniofacial Assoc.

Louisville Restaurant Chefs/Owners and Local Businesses:

My husband and I are Bellarmine grads raising a family in the Louisville area. We have two boys just 11 months apart - Ethan will be 3 in March and Aiden just turned 2 this month.

When Aiden was born, we were taken by surprise with his diagnosis of a rare craniofacial condition called Apert Syndrome (1 in 160,000 births). Children’s Craniofacial Association (CCA), a non-profit based out of Dallas, TX, supplied my family with info about Aiden's diagnosis and connected us with other families affected by craniofacial conditions as well. We felt very fortunate to have found CCA.

I am planning a silent auction/dinner event benefiting CCA to take place on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The event will be held here in Louisville at Mellwood Art Center and we are expecting between 200-250 attendees. You can visit http://www.littlefirebigheart.com to learn more about the event.

I am hoping to raise $10k for CCA through ticket sales, silent auction items, sponsorships and donations. To maximize the money raised, I am trying to keep costs for the event low, and will do my best to reach out to individuals and businesses that are willing and able to either donate or at the very least deeply discount their services and/or goods.

With that said, I am reaching out to the Louisville food community to see if there are any restaurant owners/chefs who would like to be a part of this event. I’m hoping to finalize the food for the seated dinner. With approximately 250 guests, I have decided that perhaps the best way to approach this is to include an array of “small plates” showcased by various restaurants - one for each portion of the meal (i.e. appetizer, salad/soup, entrée, side dishes, dessert, etc.).

I will work with any interested parties to coordinate the meal based on your suggestions and abilities. There is a well-equipped warming kitchen at Mellwood and I have several volunteers lined up to serve that evening.

Advertising will be offered to participants including: logo/website link on our event website; business name included on 5x7 Save the Date to be placed in metro area businesses; any signage you want to provide for the day of event; name/logo in the event program; and mentions in any/all radio, print, or television airtime if applicable.

Other items I am looking to get donated are table linens, plates/utensils/serve ware, centerpieces, liquor/wine/beer.

I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has! I look forward to hearing from you all and want to thank you in advance!

Taryn Skees - http://www.theskeesfamily.com
tarynskees@gmail.com

Taryn,
I represent Dumante Verdenoce an Italian liqueur that was developed locally. I would be happy to donate product and do tasting at your event as well as a gift basket if you are interested.

luca@dumante.com
www.dumante.com

That would be wonderful Luca! I would love to meet and learn more about your product. Perhaps we can schedule a time at Mellwood to discuss in more detail.

Fridays are usually best for me, but let me know what might work for your schedule and we can arrange something.

Thanks so much! I look forward to it!

Taryn

So far I have Meridian in St. Matthews and Luca from Dumante on board for this event.

Please let me know if anyone else is interested in donating food/alcohol for this event. I am having Save the Dates printed in April and would like to include anyone who would like to participate/donate.

We have a wonderful lineup of items for our silent auction and much work has been put into the planning of this event over the past few months. I would love to provide an opportunity for local restaurants to showcase their talents while also raising money and awareness for this important cause.

I have an event flyer and donor packets available - if you wish to review, please send me an email as I am unable to attach the file type via this forum.

CCA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. If you would like to take a moment to see what CCA is all about, please visit their website: http://www.ccakids.org.

Thanks everyone! Taryn Skees

This is just an update to see if there is any more interest in helping with a dinner for my Little Fire Big Heart event. Now that we have several corporate sponsors, I am going to really focus on getting the food and drink aspect wrapped up.

Please visit the event website http://www.littlefirebigheart.comto learn more.

I met with Luca from Dumante and he will be providing a signature drink as a "taste" during the event, as well as a basket of product for the auction. Thank you Luca!!! And a special thank you to Mike Ross at Meridian for helping to get the ball rolling.

If I can provide any additional information please let me know. I will be making some in-person visits to local restaurants in the next few weeks to provide marketing materials and try to get some more people on board. Let me know if anyone would like me to swing by your place of business. I'd be happy to!

Thanks,
Taryn Skees

Hey guys,

I'm posting to bump this back to the top of the board. This event will be a great event for foodies and people in the business. It is a great cause to support, a great way to showcase your restaurant, and a great meal for all the foodies. I encourage all chefs / owners to look at signing up as it is much easier to showcase your restaurant in a small plate versus a "bite", a little different setting from all of the "taste of" type events we are all participating in. As for the foodies you can't get a nicer setting to enjoy a small plate meal while supporting a great cause. I am really looking forward to this event.

Mike Ross,
Chef / Operating Partner Meridian Cafe