Tag Archives: charity

May 16th Farm to Tray & The Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen

My wife and I recently got involved with the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen – located at the Church of the Holy Apostles on 9th avenue and 28th Street. This is the largest soup kitchen in New York City. It provides over 1,000 meals each weekday at a time when over a million New Yorkers struggle to put food on their tables. To date, the soup kitchen has served over nine million meals.

Founded in 1982, the soup kitchen also offers its guests clothing and hygiene distributions, shelter and medical referrals, and a computer lab, all of which help them navigate toward improved health, housing and jobs.

My wife and I got involved with this awesome charity because our friends help set up the Farm to Tray fundraiser at the church every year. Farm to Tray is an event that features well-known culinary figures from across the city and culminates in what I can only describe as the ultimate foodie party. There are lots of drinks, tons of amazing food, and a bunch of silent auctions to help raise money for the soup kitchen.

You can get tickets to the event HERE. It’ll be held on May 16th at the Church of the Holy Apostles.

Since its inception in 2013, the Farm to Tray event has raised nearly $2,000,000 in cash and in-kind support. The goal of this year’s event is to raise $300,000 – which is $50,000 more than last year – to help ensure that the soup kitchen’s shelves are stocked for months to come.

My wife and I will be donating some packages to the event’s silent auctions this year; credit in my butcher shop, and my wife’s baking services. I’ll be donating some good old fashioned green and promoting ticket sales, but I’ll also be trying to add some steak dinners to the silent auction docket as well as the “butcher and baker” items.

So what do you say? Want to donate to the cause or come hang out with me and The Cake Dealer at the event? If so, CLICK HERE! And thank you for reading.

Rangers Lead the Way

In two days I’m running the NYC Marathon. To earn my bib number, I’m simultaneously raising money for an amazing charity, the Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund.

The Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports disabled U.S. Army Rangers and the families of Rangers who have died, have been injured or are currently serving in harm’s way around the world. It provides spouses and children of deceased, disabled or active duty Rangers with assistance for health and wellness programs and other services determined to be vital to the family’s well-being, beyond what the government can offer.

If you’re feeling generous, please help me reach my fund raising goal! I’m only about $400 away at the time of this post; the goal is $3000. CLick the link below if you’re so inclined!

https://www.crowdrise.com/leadthewaynyc2016/fundraiser/vincenttodarello

I can’t think of a better way to honor these badasses than to endure a marathon in their names and raise money for those they left behind. Help me help them!

Dynasty Project Casino Night with Dale Talde

My wife has some friends who are involved with the Dynasty Project. From their mission statement, the Dynasty Project creates and supports innovative programs that enrich local Asian communities through athletics and the pursuit of athletic endeavors. They look to build a culture of athletics in Asian communities as part of a complete and healthy lifestyle while providing the resources to maintain that culture for future generations. Through athletics, they seek to promote important life skills such as teamwork, leadership, the value of hard work and sacrifice, discipline, and healthy living all while getting exposure to programs and resources that might not otherwise be accessible to Asian American communities.

As you may recall, my wife is a baker (The Cake Dealer). She often will donate her baked goods for various events that the Dynasty Project hosts. This last event was in collaboration with Dale Talde, Top Chef allstar. They held a casino night with cool auction prizes. I donated my photo services and got to taste some of Dale’s food. Check out the pics below. The food consisted of veggie samosas, fried dumplings, soba noodles, sticky rice, shrimp, and broad flat noodle rolls with pork. Really great stuff, and a fun time.

chips
chips
roulette
roulette
blackjack
blackjack
craps
craps
gaming
gaming
Dale at blackjack
Dale at blackjack
Dale tossing the dice in craps
Dale tossing the dice in craps
blackjack
blackjack
beer, sojou, and specialty drink
beer, sojou, and specialty drink
the cake dealer
the cake dealer
cake dealer prizes: cake balls
cake dealer prizes: cake balls
shrimp
shrimp
dumplings
dumplings
sticky rice
sticky rice
soba noodles
soba noodles
noodle wraps with pork
noodle wraps with pork
cupcakes
cupcakes
cupcakes
cupcakes
cupcakes
cupcakes
Dale
Dale
Dale & Ren
Dale & Ren
Dale doing some product pimping
Dale doing some product pimping
speech
speech