I came up with the idea in December to host a charity brunch and it finally happened this past Saturday, February 1st. Over 30 fabulous folks gathered on the second floor of Ulah Bistro to enjoy good food, great conversation and unlimited mimosas!
Upon arrival, attendees were checked in and received raffle tickets. I gave away a $50 gift certificate to The Tailored Man, a gift ceriticate to the VIP Mobile Day Spa and four OPI nail packages. At each seat, there was information about Safe Shores along with index cards. Everyone was asked to write the name of a charity they believed could benefit from Brunch For A Cause (if you know of DC area charities that would be a great beneficiary, please let me know). Ulah Bistro put together small tables, creating two long rows; what you’d expect if you were going to a large family dinner. It was cozy, the atmosphere was great and everyone who attended had great energy. I’m sure it helped that our waitress made sure our glasses were always full! 
Since we didn’t have the entire upstairs space, it was a little noisy so unfortunately the Safe Shores Executive Director Michele Booth Cole couldn’t give a formal introduction. However, she did talk to everyone in smaller groups. I was also able to connect her to a friend that’s currently in grad school; she’ll need an internship this summer and Safe Shores does offer internship opportunities!
Through brunch attendance and generous donations, $500 was raised and donated to Safe Shores to help them continue their mission! What’s even better is that this event created exposure for Safe Shores. According to the Michele, while donations are great, gaining exposure, having people attend Coffee for Kids and gaining new volunteers is what really helps them thrive. I encourage everyone to visit www.safeshores.org and sign up to attend Coffee for Kids, a one hour in-depth introduction to Safe Shores and a tour of the facility.
Brunch on Saturday was a lot of fun! There wasn’t an official program (besides giving out raffle prizes) and I’ll probably keep it that way. We all love to brunch so I want this event to serve as a way to get together with friends like you normally would on the weekends, but expose attendees to different charities in the DC area and also give people the opportunity to network. You just never know who you’re going to meet!
I want to say THANK YOU to everyone that attended, made donations and spread the word about the first A Diva State of Mind Presents: Brunch For A Cause! Since announcing the charity brunch, the response has been so positive and I really appreciate it. Saturday proved that we not only love sipping on mimosas but we also enjoy giving back too. Collectively we can make an impact in the community. You all have helped bring my vision to life!
I hope you’ll join me for the next brunch which will be mid-June, right when summer begins :)
In the meantime, please check out more pictures from brunch HERE. If you are a local business interested in providing raffle prizes for the next brunch, please contact me!
February 4th, 2014 on 11:30 am
Seems like brunch was a success! Its good to see you use your platform to give back. hope to make it to the next one!