Plating Up for the Homeless
Going out for dinner will not only reap a good feed but also a few dollars for those in need.
More than 60 restaurants across the city are participating in this year’s DineSmart campaign, a fundraiser organised by StreetSmart Australia to assist the homeless.
The event which is in its ninth year begins on November 14 with the Big Dine Out launch and wraps up on Christmas Eve.
Dining venues will collect two dollars from each bill and put it toward funding grassroots homeless projects.
StreetSmart CEO, Adam Robinson said: “The Big Dine Out is a great way for the community to get involved and help us kick off our ninth campaign.”
“So many people will already be dining that week with business colleagues, clients, family and friends, so why not commit to ‘go DineSmart’ by choosing to eat at a participating restaurant. We want people to raise awareness and commit via social media, both Facebook and Twitter, to celebrate the start of our 2011 DineSmart event,” he said.
John Sink at Sydney’s Otto Ristorante said the campaign is a clever way to raise funds for a worthy cause.
“The customers seem to really enjoy the idea, it has also helped our tips in previous years” he said. “We get involved every year, charity is an important thing to do, and something everybody should strive to do in one way or another.”
Sam Christie from Surry Hills institution ‘Longrain’, holds the charity in high regard.
“As our restaurant is in Surry Hills, we come across many homeless people, we’ve developed a close attachment with this local community, and supporting StreetSmart is a good way of raising money,” he said. “Leading up to Christmas … it’s a very clever approach, they’ve been doing it for 15 years around the world, I’m a huge fan of the work they do.”
StreetSmart Australia was established in 2003, to support and strengthen smaller, grassroots community organisations that help the homeless. The collected donations will be distributed in the form of grants. To date, the national organisation has raised $1.6 million and supported 362 grassroots projects.
By Georgia Fullerton
