A Message from Chef's Best Presenting Sponsor NACDS Foundation

June 26, 2012

Dear Friends,

Did you decide to engage in tonight's amazing event based on a thought, or based on a feeling? Powerful thoughts and feelings alike led the NACDS Foundation to engage as the Presenting Sponsor of Food & Friends' 22nd Annual Chef's Best Dinner & Auction.

• Rationally, supporting this event makes tremendous sense because Food & Friends' tremendous work relates directly to the NACDS Foundation's vision to improve the health and wellness of the people in America.

• Emotionally, can there be a more powerful and personal moment than when a Food & Friends volunteer delivers a lovingly prepared meal and a human connection – just when a patient needs it most?

Whatever your reason for partnering with Food and Friends and for empowering this extraordinary organization, thank you for contributing so mightily to the success of Chef’s Best. It is great to know that 80% of revenue from this night goes directly to providing more than 1.2 million specialized meals to Food & Friends’ nearly 2,900 patients. That means your support is going a long way to improving lives.

For many, a meal from Food & Friends is a source of hope, dignity and courage – as much as a source of enjoyment and nutrition. It also can convey a strong message to a patient that so many people care about them, and will never turn their backs on them. It always is amazing to hear about those patients who look at the assistance that Food & Friends provides as way to meet a basic need so that they can have a little bit more energy to turn around and help others themselves.

That is one of the beautiful things about Food & Friends: many people and organizations support Food & Friends for very different and highly personal reasons, and the patients assisted by Food & Friends benefit in ways that are unique to them, based on the sense of what each person cherishes and holds dear. Yet everyone associated with Food & Friends is bonded by the common pursuit of improving lives and elevating the human condition.

Whatever you think and feel about Food & Friends, let’s celebrate it tonight – and when we leave, let’s commit to tell others about it as well!

Sincerely,

 

 Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE                                                                             Kathleen Jaeger                                       
 NACDS Foundation Chairman                                                                                NACDS Foundation President                     

Finding Her Niche in Washington D.C.

Food & Friends Special Events Associate, Eliza Yoder, shares her perspective of where to eat, where to visit, where to explore and how to get involved in our nation's capital. Through MSN.com's travel video blog, Re:discover, Eliza introduces you to Food & Friends and Executive Chef Mark Locraft.

"I think people tend to think, 'Oh, it's all politics,' but that same drive behind politics in the city is also there in everyone else, just directed in different ways."

Though born in Washington, D.C., Eliza Yoder, who calls herself the quintessential "single girl in the city," lived in London, Cambridge, England, and Rhode Island before settling back in our nation's capital. "My family always kept their house here while we lived in London, so I always felt close to this area," says Yoder. "After college I knew I'd come back here — it still always felt like home."

Yoder graduated from Brown University with a concentration in history and went on to get her master's in modern British history from the University of Cambridge. "I have always felt passionately about education and continuing my own as well as advancing others'," says Yoder. But after working as a high school teacher for two years, she found herself wanting something new.

With a brief background in fundraising, she went on to land a job at the Kennedy Center. Today, she helps to nourish terminally ill patients and their families through an organization called Food & Friends, which provides nutritionally specific meals and groceries throughout D.C., Maryland and Virginia for individuals who are battling life-challenging illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer.

"It's a nonprofit that is really focused on neighbor helping neighbor. I love that aspect of my job," says Yoder. "I have gotten to know so many different neighborhoods in the city delivering meals, and so many different kinds of people walk through our organization's doors to help volunteer."

It's no surprise Yoder ended up where she did: In a job that allows her to explore D.C.'s eclectic mix of neighborhoods. Yoder loves how easy it is to get around the city. "It's really alive, but it's manageable, and like a European city in a lot of ways," she explains.

"D.C. is also as much city as you want it to be, in that with such a variety of different neighborhood pockets, you can be in a very urban environment or more of an international feel or more suburban and you can choose to structure your life and your pursuits in the city to suit your comfort level."

For Yoder, that often means working with local chefs and the restaurant community. "There is a strong support from local restaurants in giving back to the community, not only by donating time or services, but also by building a sustainable business infrastructure to the city," she says. "I love seeing areas of D.C. transform because a few chefs have gone in and opened new restaurants that have spurred a commercial and residential resurgence and regrowth."

Whether it's organizing fundraisers or making food deliveries, Yoder's hands-on work keeps her rooted within the local community. "Food & Friends has really flourished here because there's such a sense of diversity and an urgent need for D.C. to be a community, for people to reach out and help," she says. "I think people tend to think, 'Oh, it's all politics,' but that same drive behind politics in the city is also there in everyone else, just directed in different ways. Like toward creative, artistic pursuits, charities and nonprofits, or business ventures. It's endlessly exciting and interesting to meet people who are driven to pursue different paths and appreciative of others' passions to do the same."

Washington, D.C., appeals to Yoder's sense of curiosity, she says, because whether "you're 25 or 85, there's always something new to discover." She loves to indulge her foodie habits and immerse herself in history and culture. Her favorite neighborhood may be H Street, because "it perfectly epitomizes an area of resurgence."

Yoder loves exploring the independent establishments: "They really take a lot of pride in what they're providing you with." Whether she's eating mussels and fries at Granville Moore's, listening to a local bluegrass band at SOVA Espresso & Wine or playing board games at H Street Country Club, Yoder is never at a loss for something captivating to do in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy of Re:Discover. Posted at http://rediscover.msn.com/city/250956141/insider/250984621.

Passing on Compassion: Father and son team up to make meals for those in need

Paul and Mark Elias live busy lives.

Paul is the Senior Vice President of The JBG Companies and usually heads to work around 5:30 a.m. every morning. Mark, Paul’s 18-year-old son, is a busy senior and an athlete at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria. With such hectic schedules, time to hang out and bond was difficult to find.

Two years ago, Mark started volunteering with Food & Friends as a way to fulfill a community service requirement for school. Paul, who had volunteered once before, saw this as the perfect opportunity to spend meaningful time with Mark while teaching him lifelong values.

“Mark is a normal teenager, a pretty shy guy, and I saw this as an opportunity to spend time with him. It became a regular activity in our busy schedules,” says Paul. “Our volunteer experience has been more than an act of service but it is an opportunity to make an impact while hanging out.”

Volunteering together has also sparked a new tradition. After working in the kitchen at Food & Friends, Mark and Paul usually grab dinner together at a nearby restaurant and chat about their day and volunteer experience before heading home.

“Mark doesn’t say a lot but I can tell that his involvement with Food & Friends has made a difference in his life. He met his required service hours a while ago but still continues volunteering. We’ve become quite the team.”

By volunteering together, Paul feels like he has had the opportunity to serve as a role model for Mark. He says, “Ultimately and if nothing else, I want Mark to remember what we’ve done and when he has kids, I want him to volunteer with them.”

Together Paul and Mark Elias have spent countless hours prepping, preparing and packaging meals for thousands of individuals with life-challenging illnesses. The rewards of making a difference in the lives of people dealing with serious illness is apparent to Paul and he plans on volunteering even after sending Mark off to college. He hopes Mark feels the same impact.

“I hope this experience is making an impression on him. In fact, I know it is.”

This Father's Day we salute all of the dads, like Paul, who set wonderful examples for their kids about the importance of giving back.

Raise a Fork and a Glass to Help Your Neighbors in Need: Chef's Best Dinner & Auction 2012

On Tuesday, June 26th, enjoy a festive evening of culinary creations and delectable cocktails at the 22nd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction presented by the NACDS Foundation. Mingle with 55 of the best chefs in the city and bid on exciting live and silent auction items while supporting Food & Friends’ services.

Chef’s Best will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the children and adults facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses who rely on Food & Friends for their daily meals and nutrition. In addition to a menu filled with one-of-a-kind delights, you’ll enjoy bidding on live and silent auctions featuring travel opportunities and other great adventures.

We look forward to raising a glass with you in honor of those whose support makes possible this incredible evening of generosity and commitment to the clients of Food & Friends.

Purchase Sponsorships, Tables and Tickets at www.foodandfriends.org/chefbest.

Can't attend? Don’t let that keep you from our amazing raffle and auction items! Bidding in our Online Auction opens June 11th at www.biddingforgood.com/chefsbest.

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