Friday, May. 16, 2008
St. Jude Benefit by Chili’s and Pumpkin Patch
By John English
Contributing Writer
The Chili’s stores, at 1901 and 6251 Long Prairie Road, will be sponsoring a fundraising event called "Chili’s & You for St. Jude," to be at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch at 5100 Cross Timbers Road.
North Texas families are familiar with the Pumpkin Patch as a destination for fun, pumpkins and Christmas trees, but on Saturday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the proceeds from such features as a live auction, a burger bite eating contest, bounce houses, guest celebrity appearances and a dunking booth, will benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
"What we had decided to do is try to get our community behind us to help with this," Pumpkin Patch owner Jan Balekian said. "Chili’s has been doing fundraisers for St. Jude’s for years. We were trying to get a way that we could raise more money and make the community aware of what was going on."
Balekian said visitors will be asked to make a $5 entry donation, which includes 10 tickets..
"We will have a couple of celebrities here as well," Balekian said. "We don’t want to say who they are just yet, because we want people from our community to be able to enjoy that. We want people from all over to come, but we want it to be for our community first and foremost."
Balekian said she was inspired to help with the event from observing the restaurant’s generosity when it came to St. Jude’s hospital in the past.
"I happen to eat at Chili’s almost every day," Balekian said. "What impressed me was getting involved with something that helps children. I see these young people that work at Chili’s setting aside one day a year where they donate all their tips to St. Jude’s, and it is so refreshing to see young people getting involved in an organization for children, I thought we could help, too."
Balekian said her goal is to raise $20,000. The two Chili’s in Flower Mound hold an annual fundraiser called "Create a Pepper," where guests make donations, and then decorate a paper chili pepper to be hung around the restaurant as a show of community support.
Michael Weeks, manager of the Chili’s at 1901 Long Prairie Road, said that the restaurant will be doing the "Create a Pepper" fundraiser again this year, but that he is excited about working with the Pumpkin Patch on the "Chili’s & You for St. Jude event" as well.
"We do the 'Create a Pepper’ for the whole month of September in the restaurant," Weeks said. "But we also try to do something outside of the restaurant. That’s how we help with St. Jude. … It seems like everybody we’ve told is excited about the fundraiser … and it has become a passion for me, too."
Contact Jan Balekian at 214-502-2200 for more information, or to volunteer or make a donation.
Located in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of the world’s premier centers for research and treatment of catastrophic diseases in children, primarily pediatric cancers. The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.
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