2021 Event Aims to Generate Support for Local Participating Restaurants and San Diego’s HIV Prevention Programs and Services
The San Diego LGBT Community Center has announced its plans for a reinvented Dining Out for Life® San Diego (DOFL) event for 2021.
As San Diegans continue to unite to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dining Out for Life® San Diego organizers stated that this year’s event will focus on providing extra support for its participating restaurants while also raising vital funds for HIV services and prevention efforts at The Center.
Dining Out for Life® San Diego will take place over four consecutive days from Thursday, April 29 through Sunday, May 2. Lengthening the event will help DOFL participating locations, at a reduced capacity due to safety protocols, to maximize opportunities for community participation. To further support DOFL venues, many of whom have been severely impacted by the pandemic, this year Dining Out for Life® San Diego is no longer requiring a standard minimum 25% donation of revenue. Instead, participating locations have been asked to donate what they are able to afford — as either a flat donation or percentage of revenue.
“For 15 years, many local eateries and bars have gone above and beyond to support Dining Out for Life® San Diego and The Center. Now, in this challenging time, we want to repay their generosity and make sure they feel equally supported through this important community-wide event,” said Caroline (Cara) Dessert, Esq., The Center’s Chief Executive Officer. “With that in mind, our goal for Dining Out for Life® San Diego in 2021 is two-fold – to help local restaurants recover and to raise funds to fight HIV in San Diego.”
“In order to meet our Dining Out for Life goals this year, we’ve expanded to a four-day event so we can safely increase turnout at dine-in locations and provide even more opportunities for take-out orders at all DOFL participating restaurants,” said Ian Johnson, Director of Development for The Center. “Our virtual DOFL Ambassadors and volunteers will work extra hard to support the participating locations and seek individual contributions to the event. The bottom line is that we are all in this together. The faster our local businesses recover from this pandemic, the stronger we will be as we continue to fight HIV in our community.”
As the event anticipates reduced donations from DOFL participating restaurants, organizers will make additional appeals to community members to make individual gifts to Dining Out for Life® in advance or during the event.
Dining Out for Life® invites everyone to make plans for this event by reviewing the current list of DOFL participating restaurants at https://thecentersd.org/dofl/dofl-participating-locations/.
For more information on Dining Out for Life® San Diego, or ways to support this effort, please visit https://thecentersd.org/dofl/ or contact Ian Johnson at (619) 692-2077, ext. 247 or via email at ijohnson@thecentersd.org.
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The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, Inc., (d.b.a., The Center) is one of the largest and most vibrant LGBTQ community centers in the nation. Functioning as the San Diego LGBTQ community’s anchor organization, The Center is led by an 11-member board of directors, employs more than 70 paid staff, and utilizes more than 1,200 community volunteers to achieve its twin goals of promoting LGBTQ health/wellness and human rights. The Center provides targeted programs and services to the full diversity of the San Diego LGBTQ community, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, nonbinary, immigrant, and HIV communities to the betterment of our entire San Diego region. Last year, The Center provided more than 87,000 direct service visits to San Diego community members, and through its events, activities, and advocacy, touched the lives of thousands more.
