MINNEAPOLIS — Dining Out for Life is a fundraiser for the Aliveness Project. Dylan Boyer works there and says services range from therapy to groceries and hot meals.
"It's not your typical food supply place," Boyer said. "We have a chef from a local restaurant that started working for us. The food there is really top notch."
Aliveness works with more than 150 local restaurants to raise money for its core mission of supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.
"I'm also a person living with HIV so I am a member of the Aliveness Project as well and I've received some of these services so the mission is really near and dear that's why I'm so passionate about this cause," Boyer said.
Normally on Dining Out day, restaurants donate a portion of their sales to the Aliveness Project. This year, the event is rebranded as Dining In for Life because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We saw that our restaurants were really struggling to keep their doors open," Boyer said. "Aliveness Project made the decision to not ask our restaurant partners for a financial contribution this year."
Most restaurants are now helping with marketing instead.
"They're showing their support by sharing it on their social, putting it in their newsletters," Boyer said.
This year's funding will come from community support. People in the community are encouraged to order food to go from any of the participating restaurants and to donate directly online.
One such restaurant is Sebastian Joe's.
"Aliveness project is such a great project, what they do for the community," co-owner Mike Pellizzer said. "Sebastian Joe's is still going to donate 20 percent of our sales so we're very excited about that."
Dining In for Life is an all-day fundraiser happening Thursday, September 24. KARE 11 is the official media sponsor.
"It's just really to shed some of that shame and that stigma away from the disease itself," Boyer said.