Project Night Night

We had an great turnout for the Project Night Night event.  The food started the night off deliciously with an assortment of tea foods that would have made the Queen jealous.  Everything from strawberry shortcake, bruchetta, shrimp and even those little sausages on toothpicks.  Not to mention that Stephanie was gracious enough not only to host but to make Sangria.

The event benefited a charity that supplies homeless children with something to call their own and it was the goal of The Dinner Project to complete 60 bags containing a book, a blanket and a stuffed animal.  While some of our events are mainly focused on money, these in kind donations were a much more interactive affair.  After dinner, all of the guests and board members met in the living room where a small scale assembly line was in place.  Bags were filled with blankets while other stations matched age appropriate toys with books.  We even had a little helper with us as Jessica brought her daughter to the event.

All in all we achieved the 60 bags and even had some extra books to take to the Denton County Friends and Family facility.  With this donation we will have given 60 children a small bit of comfort during a stressful time.  Being a father, I can't imagine what it would be like to have to take my child into that kind of situation, but I can imagine the level of relief I would have to see that bag sitting there ready for her.

In total we estimate that with the bags valued at $20 a piece as well as the donations and other in kind items, we raised over $1400 for the Project Night Night charity.  What an amazing total for a single night.

Project Night Night

Thunderstorms rolled through North Texas last night. When I woke to feed my little guy I began to watch the show, saying a quick prayer that my nearly four year-old daughter wouldn’t wake up from the thunder. As I sat in the mostly dark nursery, illuminated from the lightening, I began to think how grateful I am that my biggest worry was she would not get ONE good night’s sleep due to the storm. How grateful I am that we have a roof over our heads to keep us warm and dry. How we aren’t one of the (estimated) nearly 600 homeless living right here in Denton County.


This month, The Dinner Project will help 60 local homeless children have sweeter dreams. We will be partnering with Project Night Night to fill 60 Night Night Packages. Night Night Packages are tote bags provided to children at shelters that contain an age-appropriate book, stuffed animal and blanket. For many of these homeless children, these are the only belongings they have to call their own. Every child who receives one of our Night Night Packages leaves the shelter owning a book which encourages reading and family bonding, a security blanket which can be cuddled, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend.

All Night Night Packages will be donated to Denton County Friends of the Family. This local emergency shelter for survivors of relationship violence and sexual assault estimates they serve approximately 20 children every month. Twenty kids each month! Please join us to help make their dreams a bit sweeter and let them know their community cares about them. They are not just statistics - they are our neighbors and these children need to know they are important and not forgotten due to circumstances beyond their control.