DINE OUT FOR HAITI – TRIANGLE AREA
Contacts and Information:
triangleforhaiti@gmail.com
http://dineoutforhaititriangle.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=295386615268
Amy Tornquist: amy.sageandswift@verizon.net | Victoria Quinn: vquinn98@yahoo.com
Ami V. Shah: amivshah@gmail.com | Sara Felsen: sfelsen@architekturpa.com
January 20, 2010; FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DURHAM, NC – This Sunday and Monday, twenty area restaurants will be donating 10% of their proceeds to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, focusing on emergency relief efforts now, and long-term sustainable development.
Funds will be given to two organizations providing medical relief in Haiti, Partners in Health (http://www.pih.org) and the locally-run Family Health Ministries (http://www.familyhm.org/).
Participating restaurants are from across the Triangle Area. As of January 20, they included: Watts Grocery, Borgart’s American Grill, Crook’s Corner, Cyprus on the Hill, Foster’s Market, Globe Restaurant, HI5, Lantern, Michael Dean’s Seafood Grill, Pop’s Red Room Tapas Lounge, Ruckus Pizza Pasta and Spirits, Rue Cler, Saxapahaw General Store, Six Plates Wine Bar, The Mash House, Toast, Twisted Fork, and Tyler’s Restaurant and Tap Room.
Dine Out for Haiti – Triangle Area demonstrates the power of social networking. Victoria Quinn, a pediatric and neonatal critical care nurse at Duke University Medical Center, was motivated by a similar event in New York City. The event was advertised on Partners in Health’s Facebook page, and Quinn was inspired.
At about 8 PM on Monday, January 18, Quinn wrote on Partners in Health’s page, “I'm going to see if I can get something off the ground here in North Carolina.”
By 8:30 PM, she had contacted Amy Tornquist, owner of Watts Grocery in Durham, and the organizing started. By Tuesday morning, Sara Felsen, a project manager at a local architectural firm, and Duke University professor Ami V. Shah were on board.
All four organizers expressed their gratitude for the generosity of local businesses. “Response has been immediate and generous,” Tornquist stated. She hopes that the event not only raises funds for those in need, but that it raises awareness of “these two great organizations doing such important work in Haiti.”
Partners in Health, based in Boston, has been working around the world to bring healthcare to the poor. Dr. Paul Farmer, who currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Duke University, founded the organization in 1987; however, the organization’s flagship project began in Haiti in 1985. Their experience in Haiti has allowed them to provide swift response in the past two weeks, with over 13 operating rooms currently functioning in and around Port-au-Prince.
Quinn’s focus on Partners in Health and Haiti stems from long-term familial involvement with the country, sponsoring Haitian students attending college in North Carolina and traveling to Haiti herself. She argues that, in part, the current crisis emphasizes a need to re-evaluate “development strategies for poorest nations around the globe. PIH is a model of how to do it right!”
The second organization associated with Dine Out for Haiti is Family Health Ministries, founded by Dr. David Walmer of the Duke University Medical Center’s Center for Global Health. Active in Haiti since 1993, the organization expanded to a total of 3 sites in 2002, providing a multi-tiered approach to improve health through providing care, education, and better living conditions in orphanages, amongst other activities.
Through these two organizations, Dine Out for Haiti hopes to assist with both immediate and long-term development needs in Haiti. “The mission is more than just today,” stated Felsen. “It is going to take a lot of money to make Haiti even close to its previous condition. Hopefully people will not forget and these organizations can help to strengthen and, perhaps for the first time, make significant infrastructural and organizational improvements to serve the people of Haiti.”
Shah, who teaches courses on international development, including humanitarian emergencies, agreed. “Often, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, media attention draws public attention. However, the effects linger for years and decades to come, especially when the devastation is as severe as it has been in Haiti.”
Local restaurants were eager and willing to participate. In just over 24 hours, twenty restaurants had agreed to participate on either Sunday, January 24, or Monday, January 25. All have agreed to donate 10 percent of their proceeds.
In addition, the response of others willing to help has been overwhelming. Shah commented that she was “amazed by the outpouring of time, generosity, and motivation” by those involved in organizing.
“It’s wonderful to see the local restaurant and foodie community coming together like this!” said Quinn. “It’s also exciting to see how the often-criticized social networking sites have contributed to the relief effort.”
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PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS, LOCATIONS, AND DATES:
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24 MONDAY, JANUARY 25
Watt’s Grocery (Durham) Foster’s Market (Durham/Chapel Hill)
Bogart’s American Grill (Raleigh) Globe Restaurant (Raleigh)
Crook’s Corner (Evening Service Only – Chapel Hill) Lantern (Chapel Hill)
Cyprus on the Hill (Chapel Hill) Pop’s (Durham)
HI5 (Raleigh) Rockwood Filling Station (Durham)
Michael Dean’s Seafood Grill (Raleigh) Ruckus Pizza Pasta and Spirits (Cary)
Red Room Tapas Lounge (Raleigh) Rue Cler (Durham)
Saxapahaw General Store (Saxapahaw)
The Mash House (Fayetteville)
Twisted Fork (Raleigh) Six Plates Wine Bar (Durham)
Toast (Durham)
Tyler’s Restaurant and Tap Room (Carborro, Durham and Apex)
Zely & Ritz (Raleigh)
Sandwhich (Chapel Hill)
