Dining Out For Life: Support for HIV

Need an excuse to have a night out? Want to help a life-saving organization continue to do great work?

Circle Wednesday, October 9, on your calendar for the annual Dining Out for Life event to benefit Evergreen Health.

Evergreen has been at the forefront of providing front-line care for HIV and other supportive services since it was created in 1983. “Today we remain committed to meeting the health and wellness needs of people living with HIV through quality medical care and supportive services, including nutrition support, housing and transportation assistance, and services for people who are aging with HIV,” the group says.

Additionally, Evergreen helps families and individuals across Western New York who are living and dealing with chronic illnesses or who are otherwise underserved by the health care system.

The important organization is also the local beneficiary of the national Dining Out for Life initiative, in which restaurants sign up to donate a portion of sales from lunch, dinner, and/or happy hour specials to help raise money for HIV service organizations to support their work. More than 50 organizations partner with more than 2,400 restaurants, supported by 4,100 volunteers, to make the event a success, raising more than $4.5 million to help people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States and Canada. All funds raised in Buffalo will stay here with Evergreen to help support their important work.

“We provide the tools and services needed for our patients to help reach their goals, but we don’t force our patients to do or be anything in order to come to Evergreen,” the group says. “Our patients can count on us to be non-judgmental, affirming, educational, and understanding.”

Nearly 40 restaurants across Buffalo and Western New York are participating in this year’s event, donating between 25 and 50% of food and/or drink sales for the cause. A full list can be found here.

Want to do more than just go out and have some delicious food in a local restaurant to help Buffalo retain its status as the City of Good Neighbors? Become a Dining Out for Life Ambassador! Ambassadors help spread the word about the event and encourage people to go to participating restaurants and have a wonderful evening, all while representing Dining Out for Life and greeting guests as they arrive, providing them with a little information about the event. More information on being an ambassador can be found here.

Can’t make it to a restaurant to support Evergreen on October 9? That’s ok—you can make a donation here. Donations made as part of Dining Out for Life, either online or at a participating restaurant, also gets you entered to win a great prize, including an iPad Pro, two round-trip tickets from JetBlue, a dining package from Ristorante Lombardo, or a takeout package from Fat Bob’s Smokehouse.