Celebrity Waiter Dinner Served Up Fun to Benefit The Heights Foundation

June 21, 2010 - PRLog -- Local “celebrity” waiters were loud, unruly, and even outlandish at times, but they did the job serving up food and fun at the Heights Foundation’s sold-out Celebrity Waiter Dinner held June 14 at the Sunshine Seafood Café & Lounge in Fort Myers.  The event raised more than $10,000 to benefit the family development programs of The Heights Foundation.  

Local community leaders filled in as wait staff in costumes and competed for tips with offers to perform silly acts, pose for photos, sing solos, do push ups, uncork wine bottles and more.  They inspired bidding wars among guests to raise funds for the foundation’s programs, including summer camp opportunities for children, education grants, play groups for preschoolers, backpacks filled with school supplies, and much more for the families of the Harlem Heights community.  

The event featured the antics of Heights Foundation President Victor Mayeron as “Head Duck of Shenanigans,” Christin Collins as the “’Sweetest’ Girl in Town,” and the “’Officially’ Full of Tomfoolery” Joe Rider.   Cole Peacock, candidate for State House of Representatives and Pason Gaddis, the “In-the-Know”-it-All added their personalities and creative table service to the fun.

“We are the link for the Fort Myers community to support its neighbors,” said Kathryn Kelly, executive director of the Heights Foundation.  “Our mission is to break the cycle of poverty in the Harlem Heights neighborhood through programs geared toward families, and events like this help us to continue to do our work because children do better when they live in supportive neighborhoods.”

For more information about how to get involved, call 482-7706, or visit the foundation online at www.heightsfoundation.org.

About Harlem Heights and The Heights Foundation
Located off Gladiolus Drive and bordered by Summerlin Road and McGregor Blvd., approximately 1,200 children live within the boundaries of Harlem Heights. Most of the residents are economically challenged and many are unemployed.  According to the 2000 census, over one-third (36%) live below the Federal poverty level, a rate that is 100% greater than the Lee County average. The Heights Foundation is a grassroots organization that works to break the cycle of poverty in the Harlem Heights neighborhood.  The Foundation’s mission is to promote family and community development, support education and wellness, and provide the benefits of the cultural and expressive arts.   The Foundation is working to build a cultural arts and community center in Harlem Heights.