For a Good Cause

Saturday night Michael and I got dolled up for a benefit. Michael’s coworker, Jerry, found out recently he had a brain tumor. They operated and things seemed okay, then he got the bad news: terminal. I cannot even imagine how Jerry and his wife and family took the news. I know I wouldn’t take news like that well for anyone in my life. I was so happy that Michael’s company decided to throw a benefit for Jerry. The company rented a trendy warehouse space and threw an amazing party!

The company went ALL OUT. I am so impressed, and touched at the outpouring of support for Jerry. His wife decided to go on leave from her job to spend the last few months she can with her husband. I am so glad that I could play a part in this and donate money to the cause. First up: the FOOD. Holy cow. Was it good!

There were a bunch of big BBQ’s outside the building and there were ribs, chicken legs and brisket.

Everything was by “donation” and all proceeds go to Jerry. I happily forked over money for drinks and dinner. It was good eatin’! Michael got the rib dinner–it came with bread and coleslaw. I got the brisket sandwich with BBQ beans. Confession: What I REALLY wanted was the BBQ chicken leg but it looked super messy to eat and I didn’t want to get all messy in front of Michael’s coworkers. I regretted not getting the chicken though. Another Confession: I ended up buying some chicken “to go” and I ate one of those chicken legs when we got home. And it was AMAZING. By far the BEST BBQ chicken I’ve had in my entire life. I will be dreaming about that chicken for years.

Michael's Dinner

My Dinner

There was also entertainment! There were belly dancers:

And a REALLY good blues band. I kid you not: these kids couldn’t have been over 18 years old and they were mastering complicated blues songs like pros. They played original songs and a bunch of covers that blew me away (and impressed Michael who HATES blues music and is also a musician).

And there was a photo booth too! Michael and I took a shift running the photo booth and it was super fun. We even got some pictures taken too.

Plus, I finally got to meet Seth Aaron. You may recognize the name from Project Runway–he won last season! I’m not really a groupie-type but I did want to meet Seth because I LOVED his clothes on Project Runway. They were gothic and dark–just what I like! Oh and Michael works with Seth Aaron! (Which is why we watched that season of Project Runway.)

Seth Aaron and Me

Seth was the MC for the night. There were also raffles and silent auctions. Michael donated a soccer jersey to the cause:

Seth Aaron's Donation

There were TONS of things on auction. Lots of fun, cool things plus amazing art. I put my name down for a few things but sadly I was out-bid.

There were so many good things that coworkers donated to the cause to be bid on. I ended up buying a bowl that Jerry made by hand:

And I also bought some photography from another coworker:

It was such a nice night. I was impressed with how many people turned out. It made me have a renewed outlook on humanity after a week of experiences that left me feeling like people are black at heart. I saw that there are places where coworkers care about each other and do things to help each other–especially in a time of need. What an amazing place Michael works at.

As the night wore on I got more and more tired and SORE from Saturday’s workout. We called it a night and I happily went home to bed, glad I could contribute to someone’s life to make it a little easier.

QUESTION: Do you do anything for charity?