Ronald McDonald, Fashion, and Mediterranean Food

Ronald McDonald, Fashion and Mediterranean food--what do these three things have in common? Well, the Dinner Project of course!!

First, let me start with Ronald McDonald House of Dallas. What an amazing night of appetizers, donations and good friends to start 2011. We raised over $550 of cash, gift cards, and in-kind donations for this wonderful cause. Ronald McDonald House of Dallas is the ONLY location in the entire United States that serves 3 full meals to families who have loved ones going through medical emergencies and procedures. Like all of us that night, we all went home, squeezed our children a little tighter,gave extra good night kisses and felt truly blessed for all that we have in our lives.

Secondly, let's talk about fashion. I LOVE FASHION!! Ever since I was a little girl I would stage runway shows with my Barbie dolls, my friends, and even my cats!! So when I interviewed for my first "real" job after college I remember exactly what I wore: a black crepe bebe suit, nude hose and a pair of Nine West pumps. (think Ally McBeal in the late 90's) I felt confident and yes, I got the job. All of us have had interviews throughout our careers and agonized over what to wear--something conservative, yet distinctive to show us as unique individuals. So that brings us to TDP's charity of February, Dress for Success. Since 1997, this non-profit organization has helped to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Just thinking about my old bebe suit helping another woman to land her dream job instead of collecting dust in my closet makes me happy. So come on--clean out your closet of old suits (please dry clean them), work appropriate handbags/briefcases, and accessories and help women get a fresh start in life. Or...cash will do just fine!!

Last but not least, Mediterranean food. Yummmmm...okay so not only was the Bebe suit collecting dust but there is no way after 2 kids, and a whole lot of wonderful TDP event dinners that the suit was going to ever fit again (I mean--come on I did say the late 90s!!) February 11th's food theme is Mediterranean which includes Greek and Italian--my two favorites! Feta, olives, pasta, desserts...well suffice it to say it will be another fabulous meal at the Dinner Project! So please join us to eat, think and give!

Ronald McDonald House

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks to everyone who made the Dinner Project's inaugural year so wonderful in 2010. In just a few short months, we were able to raise $4,805 for 5 amazing organizations. Thank you!

This month, we will be supporting the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, which is a temporary home for families who live too far away to commute back and forth while they seek medical care for their children in a Dallas-area hospital. I first heard about the Ronald McDonald House when fellow Dinner Project members, Dana, Stephanie, Sonya and Ginger mentioned they volunteer once a month at the House to prepare lunch for the families. I made an appointment to tour the House and immediately signed up to be part of this amazing organization.

The new House opened its doors just last year and can host 52 families, including 6 special rooms for children receiving bone marrow and organ transplants. The have playrooms, libraries, outdoor play area, laundry facilities, chapel and respite rooms among other services at the House. If you get a chance to ever stop by and take a tour of the facility, you will be amazed! I was awestruck at how it truly felt like a home, the perfect place for families to find peace after a long, stressful day of medical appointments, procedures, meetings with doctors, and worrying about the health of their children.

From firsthand experience, having a sick child is one of the worst, if not the worst feelings a parent can experience. While we count our blessings our daughter, Carly, has been relatively healthy, our little boy, Noah has experienced his share of illness. From several bouts of pneumonia, recurrent asthmatic episodes, a broken leg and two trips to the emergency room due to his peanut allergy, my husband and I are quite familiar with stress during a child's illness. I admire the courage of both the parents and children everywhere who are experiencing higher levels of medical care, illness and treatment, and am so thankful a place like the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas is a local source of support, respite and peace for them.

Please take a moment to visit their website to learn more about them, what they do and how you can help. I warmly invite you, your family and friends to my home at 7 pm on January 14, 2011 to learn about the Dinner Project and support our designated January 2011, the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.

A day to give Thanks

Friday marked the Dinner Project's Thanksgiving dinner. We asked our friends and family to come and eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal with us and show their support for the work that we are doing by donating directly to the Dinner Project. A non-profit organization is, sadly, not a cheap thing to start or continue, and while we don't have salaries or rent to pay, there are a few costs that are necessary.

Friday's event brought in roughly $300 which will be applied directly towards our costs in filing the necessary paperwork to classify our organization as non-profit and gain tax exempt status. Over the course of the last few months we have raised around $4500 that has been distributed to various charities with the generous donations of all the friends and family that have attended our different events. With the donations raised on Friday, we can continue our momentum and make the coming events even more successful.

Thanks to everyone that attended on Friday. If you didn't attend, you missed out on a raffle for some of Jessica's handmade jewelry, as well as a smorgasbord of traditional Thanksgiving fare. We held discussion on the future plans of the Dinner Project and our next event will be in January to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charity. We will be asking for in-kind donations, as well as monetary, so if you get something for Christmas you don't want, save it and donate it to charity.

An update on the Kiva Charity Donations

Here is a quick update on our first Dinner Project Charity. The micro-loans given through Kiva to help two woman start businesses have had some repayment.

The first loan of $150.00 has so far had a 21.15% repayment. The loan was given to Nive of Samoa. Nive is 61 and married with six children. She owns a business venture selling lava lavas (bottom-half wrap-around prints worn by both men and women).

The second loan of $50.00 has had a 23.10% repayment. This loan was given to a woman named Marcia from Ecuador. Marcia is 36 years old and she lives in Fortín de Guayaquil (a semi-urban area, with dirty paths, and deteriorating hills). She sells natural products like medicines for body pains and other kinds of symptoms. In order to build a better house, and provide better service to her customers, she wants to buy cement, stones, and sand with the loan.

Once these funds have been repaid, they can be loaned again and we can continue the cycle of giving. This is The Dinner Project in action.

Over $4,500 raised with just 4 events! - The Dinner Project's November Event

It's hard to believe that in just 4 events we've raised and distributed over $4,500 for some amazing causes. We've supported small business owners in Samoa and Ecuador with small micro loans. We hosted a BeadforLife party and sold handmade jewelry made by Ugandan women to help support them with education, job training, better schools and health services. We raised cash and paper goods for Jonathan's Place, a crisis shelter for children, and we had an amazing night of pink raising money to help support breast cancer research and awareness. 100% of our proceeds from each event were given directly to the charities. We have a full board of directors now with regular board meetings happening each month and a calendar planned through the end of 2011.

For our November event we are asking for your help to continue the momentum and help The Dinner Project with administrative costs. It costs money to run a non-profit organization, even one that has 100% volunteer labor and no office space or overhead. We are asking for donations to help defray the costs for things like party supplies, event space rental, printing costs and to apply for our 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Just filing the paperwork is $400.

We've had amazing response to the organization and the work we are doing. We are seeing new faces each month and many repeat guests who are quickly becoming Dinner Project regulars! People in other parts of the U.S. want to host dinner parties for us in their home towns. All this in just 6 short months.

Help us keep the momentum going by joining us November 12 for a Thanksgiving meal. Share a meal with us, share The Dinner Project with a friend by bringing someone along with you and share your abundant resources with people who need a little extra to make their lives better. I hope to see you all there - it's a great cause and it's happening right here in our community! How exciting to be a part of all this!

Dana Neal

www.dinnerproject.org

A Blog about our Breast Cancer Event

I just had a little girl and as I look at her I wonder, "Could she develop breast cancer?". It seems that more and more we hear about women contracting this horrible disease and as a man, it has been outside my radar, even though men are also at risk. That is why this month's Dinner Project charity was so dear to my heart.

Friday marked the Dinner Project's Breast Cancer Awareness event to benefit breast cancer research and it was a great success. The Boobie-Q brought out a lot of delicious food as well as a group of amazing women who donated their time and energy to such a worthy cause. I find myself to be the sole man at most of these events and I was privileged to be in such esteemed company.

We heard from Sonya on her upcoming return to the Susan G. Komen 3 day walk for cancer and many of our group helped her get on her way to her goal. There was also a survivors story that was told which is always humbling and inspiring to hear.

Thanks again Sonya for hosting such an amazing night.

Sonya's thoughts on our October event for Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast Cancer! Did you know that 30 years ago you couldn't say the word "breast" or "boobie" or any word that described that body part without getting a bad look aimed at you. And you definitely couldn't put it in print. Well obviously times have changed and the word "breast" is posted everywhere and said everywhere. However, the good majority of the times it's with that dreaded word behind it "cancer".

A friend told me yesterday or her 40 year old sister-in-law that is struggling with breast cancer that has now spread to her lungs and brain. 40 years old!! That's my age, well sort of. She has three kids ranging from the age of 7 - 12. I also had a friend that told me about her mother that has breast cancer that has spread to her bones. And there are so many more stories and so many more people that can unfortunately share them. I'm sure you have your own stories to tell.

And so I ask if it's ever going to stop, or at least get better. Did you know that over 207,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will occur among women in the United States in 2010. And an estimated 39,840 will die from breast cancer. Also, almost 2000 men will be diagnosed this year.

So as I prepare to host the Dinner Projects October Event to raise money for breast cancer awareness month, I'm blessed to say that none of my closest family and friends are struggling with breast cancer. But I know that will change, and I want to do my part in making sure they have the best options available to catch it early and to some day eliminate this disease forever. I pray that my efforts will make my daughters world, a better place. Hope you can make it on Friday the 15th at the Dinner Project.