STELLA'S EATERY: RAISING AWARENESS FOR WOMEN

Stella's Eatery in Picton held a charity event this past Sunday to raise awareness for local women's organizations in Picton and Shannonville.

December 16th was an evening to remember at Stella's Eatery, one of the newest restaurants in PEC. They held a charity night to support and raise awareness for Alternatives for Women and Red Cedars Shelter. Local chefs including Leah Marshall Hannon, Mary Wood from 100 Acre Wood, Sam Valdivia from Parson's kitchen, Sam Revenda from The Shore Oysters and Rebecca Hunt from Picnic all came together to serve a variety of tasty apps for the guests attending. There were also tarot card readings by Leigh Nash, a silent auction and a performance by Villas.

We spoke with Sam Revenda about the aim for this event:

"We at Stella’s Eatery and The Shore Oysters decided we wanted to raise some money during the holidays for people who are facing challenges this year. It can be a difficult time for some, so we came up with an idea and our community built the rest. The details just started to come together over the next few days, and people were emailing and messaging asking how they could help. We decided to focus our fundraising to two organisations in the community: Alternatives for Women in Picton, confidential help for abused women in PEC, and to Red Cedars Shelter in Shannonville, a safe place for women and their children leaving abusive situations.

I think everyone wants to help in some way, [but] they just don’t know where to start, so we started and the rest came together with everyone’s help. There is so much support around here. The amount of individuals that reached out wanting to help was overwhelming. People who can’t make it to the event have sent e-transfers to donate, businesses have dropped off gifts for the auction or wine and beer for serving on the night. The idea caught on like wildfire and people responded in such a positive way. It’s a beautiful thing when a small seed can grow so organically. We’re really proud and humbled by the whole experience and hope that we can make a real difference for the lives of the women that need it. " -- Sam Ravenda 

We were thrilled to see the community coming together for such an important event celebrating local women's organizations carried out by local women in business. It was a huge success and we are happy to announce that this event raised a total of $4,700 for Alternatives for Women and Red Cedars Shelter!

If you missed out on this event, but would still like to donate, please visit the Alternatives for Women website / the Red Cedars Shelter website.