Watermark Online - Your LGBT Life. Daily.: Restaurants,  ambassadors needed for Dining Out for Life 2010

Restaurants,  ambassadors needed for Dining Out for Life 2010
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Steve Blanchard on 17/02/2010 12:55:00
 
The AIDS Service Association of Pinellas (ASAP) once again is promoting its
annual Dining Out for Life fundraising event. This year, restaurants throughout
Tampa Bay will donate proceeds raised during meals served on Thursday, April 29.
ASAP Marketing Coordinator Anthony Barros hopes to see even more restaurants
participating than in previous years.
“It’s a fun night for a good cause and it actually boosts business for
restaurants,” Barros said.
Dining Out For Life is a nationwide AIDS services fundraiser that began in 1991
in Philadelphia. Five years ago, organizers of DOFL contacted Barros after
learning about the expanding St. Petersburg AIDS Walk.
“I was honored they thought of Tampa Bay,” said Barros, who coordinates the
St. Petersburg AIDS Walk each year. “You have to be invited to participate in
DOFL, and we’re just one of 50 cities that participates. They look for
outstanding agencies that are stable and can be involved in the long term.”
Locally, Dining Out For Life stretches beyond St. Petersburg. Barros said that
restaurants in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties are on board again this
year.
“We’re still in the asking process for this year, but we want to raise
awareness,” he said. “April will be here before we know it.”
The way Dining Out For Life works is simple, according to Barros. Participating
restaurants agree to give 25% of each bill back to ASAP. The organization then
uses the money to provide co-payment assistance, food and other support services
for its clients infected with HIV/AIDS. Currently, ASAP serves more than 600
people. They recently opened a satellite office at the Flamingo Resort.
“We’re all struggling in this economy,” Barros said. “So this is a great
way to give to charity by doing something you’d be doing anyway—eating.
Everyone has to eat and everyone enjoys a night out at a restaurant.”
Barros hopes that more than 75 restaurants will join in this year’s
fundraising efforts. But it takes more than just restaurants to make Dining Out
For Life work. According to Barros, the April 29 event needs ambassadors to make
sure people plan to dine out that night. Ambassadors are usually well-connected
people in the community, who then serve as hosts at the restaurant throughout
the day and evening.
“They can sign up for breakfast, lunch or dinner—or all three,” Barros
said. “People and groups are encouraged to be our ambassadors and to invite
everyone they know to dine at their particular restaurant that day. The more
people they bring out, the more money we raise.”
Interested ambassadors for Dining Out For Life should contact Pedro Donato at
727-328-5518 to choose from a long list of participating restaurants.
Restaurants should contact Barros at 727-328-3268. For more information, visit
ASAP Services or Dining Out For Life.