(Photo from The Center Orlando’s Instagram page)
ORLANDO | Dining Out For Life is back in Central Florida this month, and they are partnering with the LGBT+ Center Orlando for a weeklong series of events.
Dining Out For Life is an annual dining fundraising event that helps raise money for community-based organizations serving people living with or impacted by HIV. Dining Out For Life has been getting restaurants to donate a percentage of their sales since 1991, raising millions of dollars for HIV services in those participating restaurant’s cities. This year, Dining Out For Life is taking place in 45 U.S. cities, including six in Florida.
This year’s events will run April 24-30.
The week begins April 24 with a kick off party at The Center Health & Human Services, located at 1200 Hillcrest St., Suite 102, in Orlando. Attendees will get to see the facility, can be tested for HIV and look through participating restaurant menus.
“Proceeds go to our health and human services, so all of our HIV/AIDS funding, testing and our outreach. We have a pretty robust mobile outreach,” The Center CEO George Wallace says. “It goes to help underwrite all of those programs and pay for staffing and overhead and supplies.”
On April 25, The Center will be attending Tasty Takeover Orlando, a food truck block party in The Milk District, to share information about the organization and Dining Out For Life. It should be noted that this event is just to provide information and that the food trucks are not Dining Out For Life participants.
The Center hosts a movie night April 26 at the community center, located at 946 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando. Starting at 8 p.m., attendees will watch “Julie & Julia” and tickets can be purchased for $5 here.
The big Dining Out For Life day will take place April 27 with a dozen participating restaurants in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties. Participating restaurants will donate a percentage of the day’s profits for select mealtimes to The Center. The full list of participating restaurants can be found on Dining Out for Life’s Central Florida website.
“It’s a great day to go out and support local organizations and we’re very fortunate here in Central Florida,” Wallace says.
The same evening will also feature two additional events: Hamburger Mary’s Orlando will be hosting Charity Bingo with Miss Trixie Deluxxe, starting at 7 p.m., and Savoy Orlando will be hosting a special edition of Trivia, the food edition, with The Center’s very own CEO, George Wallace. Trivia starts at 6 p.m.
Deadwords Brewing will hold a special Happy Hour April 29 from 2-6 p.m. with a portion of all sales going to The Center. There will also be a raffle held. The event is 21 and up only and free to attend, but it is recommended you RSVP, which can be done here.
The week ends April 30 with a pancake brunch and drag show at Savoy Orlando starting at noon. The show will feature “The Ladies of Savoy.” This is also a 21 and up event. General admission tickets are $15 with VIP packages, which includes four tickets, going for $100. VIP packages include a reserved table, a bottle of champagne and a swag bag. Tickets can be purchased here.
“I love the community connection because, being a center, we don’t always get to work with restaurants,” Wallace says. “This event itself is really unique because we’re partnering with companies that we don’t normally do a daily business with. It’s fun. It’s exciting.”
The Center is also holding its own raffle to raise funds. For every $25 you donate at tinyurl.com/3fxmecu6 you get one entry into the drawing to win one of the following prizes: a Virgin Voyages Cruise for 2 (Caribbean or Mediterranean), a Hard Rock Daytona Beach Weekend Stay with a $100 Dining Credit and a four-ticket package to Sam Smith’s Concert at the Amway Center on July 26.
The drawing will be held May 15.
To donate or learn more about the event, visit Dining Out for Life’s website.
