Tag Archives: charity

Taste of Huntington Beach is on Sunday April 28th

Two things I love: Good Books and Good Food. That is why I love supporting the Taste of Huntington Beach organized by the Friends of the Children’s Library (FOTCL). I myself have been a volunteer and one-time correspondence secretary of the FOTCL.

Since 2002, the Friends of the Children’s Library (FOTCL), in partnership with the Huntington Beach Restaurant Association (HBRA), has donated more than $300,000 from Taste proceeds to the HB Children’s Library.

This Sunday, I will be at the HB Sports Complex, with my camera and my taste buds ready to sample the wine and craft beers and the tastiest food. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and making new friends. It’s going to be a great time!

To view photos I took from the 2010 Taste of Huntington Beach, click here.

Here are some I took from last year’s Taste of Huntington Beach event.

Champagne served at the VIP Tent of the Taste of HB last year.

Some of my favorite local Huntington Beach restaurants are there every year to support the Children’s Library.

Like Duke’s Huntington Beach

Sandy’s Beach Grill

Sandy’s Beach Grill made its debut at the Taste 3 years ago!

And TomGirl Baking Company

Former Taste of HB Committee Volunteer leader has joined the TomGirl Baking Company actually. What a sweet group of gals! (pun intended)

I really love discovering new tastes and new restaurants at the Taste of Huntington Beach. Here are two of the most delicious samples I’ve had.

Tasty tacos with a twist from Red Table Restaurant

Pork Belly skewers from last year’s first timer The Corner HB.

So if you are looking for a fun springtime event, I do hope you can make it to the Taste of Huntington Beach on Sunday, April 28, from noon to 4pm at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex. Where else can you get a wide array of culinary tastes and sips with one inclusive ticket price?

Support a great cause too!

About FOTCL:

The Friends of the Children’s Library is an all volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting children’s interest in literature, reading, and the use of library resources and services. ALL the money raised is used to support a variety of educational and entertaining programs and activities for the children in our community through the Children’s Department of the Huntington Beach Public Library.

LIKE the Taste of HB on facebook.com/tasteofhuntingtonbeach

LIKE FOTCL on facebook.com/FriendsOfTheChildrensLibraryOfHuntingtonBeach

Team Kids Annual Imagine Celebration on 3/24

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I do love to support a good charity. So when the opportunity to help Team Kids came along, I was all over it. The mission of Team Kids is to inspire and empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for community service. The Irvine-based non profit organization encourages innovative community collaborations. It’s helping kids help others in their communities.

On March 24th, Team Kids will present its 7th Annual Imagine Celebration at Il Fornaio Restaurant. Attendees will enjoy a delicious Italian buffet, entertainment, and a gathering of families, and leaders from education, government, and the police and fire departments. The Team Kids Spirit Award will be presented to Oakley CEO Colin Baden and to Edwards Lifesciences CEO Mike Mussallem for their leadership and support of the Team Kids Mission. The Team Kids Youth Council will be hosting hands-on service projects for young guests! The celebration also marks 50th Birthday of the TEAM KIDS BUS! You can get tickets for the event at TeamKids.org

I Helped Build a Playground in One Day

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Last week, I was one of about 200 volunteers from The Smile Generation, who traveled to Phoenix, AZ to build a playground in one day, for a domestic abuse shelter. Working with KaBOOM! and Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) , the build was well organized. KaBOOM! is a “national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s Children.” CPLC is a “community development corporation in Arizona that offers extensive services in both urban and rural areas.”

Here are some statistics, according to http://domesticviolencestatistics.org

Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.

It’s hard to imagine the violence that the children in the shelter have witnessed and experienced. They all looked so carefree and happy-go-lucky as children should be but some had haunted looks in their eyes. A playground would be a great place that would allow them to be who they are – simply kids.

The playground was designed by the kids and we were there to build it for them. In addition, there was also a free dental clinic for the residents. Last year, during another playground build in San Bernardino County, CA, I mostly helped out at the clinic. At that time, I was struck at the awesome work of our volunteer dentists – I saw nervous kids going to the dentist for the first time, and leaving with a smile. I witnessed adults shaking with joy and relief after having their teeth fixed.

In Phoenix, we were instructed not to tweet or check-in at our location, in order to protect the residents of the shelter. So you can imagine, this was a bit of a challenge for me, being as plugged in to social media as I am. Knowing the sensitivity of the location and the residents’ situations, I was happy to comply. To be honest, between moving mounds of dirt (my assigned duty) and mulch, there was hardly any time to live blog anyway.

One of the good things about working on volunteer projects like this, is the opportunity to bond with fellow workers. In this case, we all worked for the same company and we knew each other by email address and job function only. On that day though, we were working towards a common goal. At the build we were all the same — just people no – hierarchy or job titles, no departments to separate us.

The playground was completed at 4:30 pm. By then, we had worked almost 8 hours. A group of volunteers from Colorado had to leave before the ribbon cutting ceremony. Then there was the lot of us who had to make our way back to Orange County, CA. We were all exhausted and dirty, but seeing the smiles on the children’s faces made it all worthwhile.

Here is a video I created from last year’s playground build:

Craft Beer Fest to Benefit 9/11 Fallen Firefighters Fund

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Things are brewing in restaurants and bars across the country and the blogosphere. If you’ve had a craft beer recently then you know what I’m talking about. Craft beers refer to beers brewed by small, independent brewers. Remember the microbreweries that were popular in the nineties? Well, out of its ashes, it would seem that the passionate craft beer makers and consumers have risen. Even actor Adrian Grenier has his own beer company, Churchkey Can Company, but that’s a story for another time.

This post is about the 3rd Annual OC Brew Ha Ha Festival – a festival featuring over 175 Craft Beers, 70 Breweries to benefit the Fallen Firefighters Relief Fund Honoring 9/11. On Saturday, September 8th, 3rd Annual OC Brew Ha Ha craft beer festival will be held at beautiful Oak Canyon Private Park in Silverado near Irvine Lake. The event features unique beer-parings with cuisines from local restaurants and food trucks, exclusive beer tasting seminars by renowned experts, and live entertainment.

I asked some of the participating brewers about this growing craft beer trend. Head Brewer for Pizza Port in San Clemente Ryan Fields said: “The recent popularity of craft beer is not a trend, it’s a revival. We’re bringing things back to the way they are supposed to be and have been in the past.” Head Brewer for Alcatraz located in The Block at Orange Robb McLeod echoes this sentiment. He said:
“Craft beer is going off because an increasing number of beer drinkers are realizing that they need not drink the same old beer all the time. As for trends, these things have a cyclic waxing and waning. The way it has been since it all started decades ago.”

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The mission of OC Brew Ha Ha is to bring high quality beer and food to connoisseurs with a discerning palette and celebrate the fast growing craft beer industry. The event brings together Beer Appreciation Seminars led by industry leaders including Ed Heethuis of Celebrator Beer News and Ritual Brewing, Jonathan Porter of Tustin Brewing, and Jace Milstead of Firestone Walker; world-renowned Cicerone and “Craft Beer Ambassador” for the award winning Stone Brewing Company, “Dr. Bill” Sysak, will present a special seminar and rare beer tasting for VIP guests.

There will be free food samples offered at the fun Farmer John Tailgater, Slater’s 50/50 station and more. Stone Catering from the famous Stone Brewing World Bistro, Rasta Taco, Sausage King, and top food trucks Bacon Mania, Chomp Chomp Nation, Company 77, The Garlic Truck, Rancho a Go Go, and the Viking Truck will be on-site serving up perfect beer pairing eats.

In memory of 9/11, proceeds from the festival support the Local 3631 Firefighters Union and Fallen Fire Fighters Relief Fund, a non-profit organization that aids surviving spouses and children of Orange County Firefighters lost in the line-of-duty. Local off duty firefighters join the brewers on-site to pour beer for this special event.

General admission tickets are $40 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. VIP tickets are $55 and entrance begins one hour earlier at 12 p.m. All guests receive a commemorative festival glass, ten 4 oz. tastes, beer appreciation seminars, free food samples, complimentary water, soft drinks, and free parking. VIP guests receive fourteen 4 oz. tastes, plus a VIP exclusive seminar by ‘Dr. Bill’ Sysak of Stone Brewing with a complimentary taste of a rare beer personally selected by him. Additional tastes may be purchased on-site at the event.

For the first time OC Brew Ha Ha is presenting a Friday night Brewers’ Dinner and Campout on 9/7/12. Limited spaces are available for sale. To learn more about the new campout visit www.OCBrewHaHa.com.

These events are restricted to those 21 years and older and are sponsored in part by Farmer John, SWELL, and the World Famous KROQ 106.7FM.

Billabong’s 6th Annual Design For Humanity to Benefit Chipotle Cultivate Foundation

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I don’t remember much about the Grammy Awards on tv this year, but I do remember this commercial that featured Willie Nelson covering a Coldplay song. The song accompanied a very moving animated farm video. It was a Chipotle ad and itunes downloads of the song benefited the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.

Last June 21st, Billabong and the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation hosted an intimate farm to table dinner at The Ecology Center, in San Juan Capistrano, CA. The dinner was the kick off for the Annual Deign for Humanity. The Design for Humanity 2012 Fashion, Art and Music event on July 25, 2012 will benefit the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation,an organization dedicated to creating a sustainable, healthful and equitable future

Guests enjoyed a pre-dinner reception and live performance from Donavan Frankenreiter inside The Ecology Center’s exhibits, followed by a sit down dinner prepared by Chef Paul Buchanan of Primal Alchemy catering. Each dish highlighted local bounty such as avocados from musician Jason Mraz’s farm; Eureka lemons and herbs from pro-skateboarder Bob Burnquist’s farm; Tangelos and Navel oranges from Murray Farms; Weiser Family Farms heirloom potatoes; mussels from Carlsbad Aquafarm; Tamai Farms roasted chilies; and greens from Kenter Canyon Farms, among others. Speakers at the event included Evan Marks, The Ecology Center founder; Candy Harris, Billabong Brand Director; and Chris Arnold, director of communication at Chipotle Mexican Grill and secretary of the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.

Photo credit: Gina Turpel

Chipotle’s Chris Arnold said: “We are honored that the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation has been selected as this year’s beneficiary. Our partnership with Billabong, and their Design for Humanity fundraising efforts, support the foundation’s mission to reach and educate younger generations about food matters, and generate additional support for family farmers and their communities.”

Billabong, the active lifestyle brand, presents the Design for Humanity event every year. It is a massive fashion, music and art party on the backlot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood featuring multiple concert stages, DJ dance parties, a runway fashion show featuring one of a kind Billabong looks, organic food trucks, a custom art gallery and silent auction, a VIP street and much more. Proceeds from the silent auction and 100% of the ticket sales will benefit The Cultivate Foundation.

Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and the faces of hunger

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Being an OC FAMILY blogger has given me many opportunities. While the perks such as going to Disneyland or watching a movie premiere are fun, what is truly wonderful is getting the opportunity to serve.

Photo by Suz Broughton

Last week, with my fellow bloggers, we volunteered at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa. I am not new to volunteering and I’ve made food for a soup kitchen but I’ve never served the meals before. Let me tell you that it was a humbling and eye opening experience.
Perhaps because I grew up in a third world country, I’d become desensitized to the face of hunger. In the Philippines, there are hungry and homeless kids on the street every day. They beg, sing, dance, sell candy or what not as they dart between cars in traffic. They smile through it all, they were born to poverty and while it is sad, that they may not get out of it, it is the truth.

The thing is, it is hard to relate poverty, hunger and homelessness with America, the land of plenty, the land of opportunity. And perhaps it is this that was most startling for me at the soup kitchen — the faces. They weren’t the skinny malnourished street urchins I knew but regular people. There were seniors, boomers and young ones — there was a self-confessed Berkeley hippie from the old days, a group of young guys who looked like they could be the next big band (yeah, we are musicians, they told me), a professionally dressed couple who asked us to please not take any pictures. The economic recession has undoubtedly brought new faces to the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and Tutoring Program, whose mission is simple: “to feed a daily nutritional meal to the homeless, the unemployed, the working poor, the mentally challenged, the physically challenged, the senior citizens and most important of all — the children.”

After updating my Facebook status about volunteering, many people stepped forward and asked “How can I help?”

Here are a few ideas:

Consider making a financial donation. Give the gift of a warm, nutritious meal for $1.33 this season.

Donate socks, warm coats and toys.

Donate anything from toiletries to blankets, plates, cups, shirts, socks etc to be included in the 450 backpacks they are putting together for the holidays.

To make a donation or get involved in the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen Holiday Campaign, please visit www.OCSoupKitchen.org or call 949-548-8861

Check out OC METRO Blogger Albert Ornelas’ video about the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen.

Marcie Taylor

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Tag Archives: charity

Taste of Huntington Beach is on Sunday April 28th

Team Kids Annual Imagine Celebration on 3/24

I Helped Build a Playground in One Day

Craft Beer Fest to Benefit 9/11 Fallen Firefighters Fund

Billabong’s 6th Annual Design For Humanity to Benefit Chipotle Cultivate Foundation

Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and the faces of hunger