Comiendo por una Causa/Eating for a Cause

A few weeks ago I got a call from my friend Joseph about doing a dinner fundraiser at my house to help flood victims in Nicaragua. The rains this year have been severe and, in one tragic accident, six Red Cross workers were killed in a flash flood while they were trying to help victims.

The premise behind the dinner is that ten of us would cook up a feast and then invite all of our friends to give a $5 minimum donation to eat with us. All of that money would go directly to flood relief, not towards food, as all of the chefs covered the cost of their own materials. The funds we decided would go to a local organization in Boaco that works closely with the Canadian Red Cross. They would use this money to buy supplies and/or train new volunteers.

Leading up to the event I just wanted everything to be perfect. We set up a tent and tables in my backyard, a sound system for music thanks to Joseph's guitar amp and a borrowed BBQ for the gator-style steaks. With some extra logistics help from Arlen and Mimi, we were ready to go.


Luis, the first to arrive and to donate:



The all-homemade and absolutely delicious spread:



Joseph serving "the gator":



Eating for a Cause (Table 1 of 3):




The event was a huge success. We had anywhere from 30-40 people come to the actual event. For me, I loved seeing the mash-up of my friends from church, NGOs and the Embassy community all mixing together and having fantastic conversations.

And now, for the big news, the money we raised at the dinner and other subsequent donations came to a grand total of, drumroll please ... $1100! That was way more than we were expecting to get and will be such a great contribution to the work the Red Cross is supporting in Boaco.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support this event! I'm planning on visiting the site in the coming weeks so I'll hopefully be posting pictures from that trip soon.