charity

Get your boxing gloves out and keep your guard up! Legends Fight Night is celebrating its ninth year and it keeps getting bigger and better! “Fight Night” is one of the most notorious charity events in Chicago and has raised over $1.6 million dollars, benefitting numerous charities. This year, however, “Fight Night” is going even bigger when it comes to helping out. To reach and help more charities founder Neal Wilkinson and the Board of Directors launched the OpenField Foundation (O.F.F) earlier this year. The O.F.F.’s purpose is to help support small, new and undeserved charities by being a charitable fundraising platform through grants, gifts, and donations.

October 6th will see the 85^th annual fashion show presented by the Women’s Board of Rush University, but even though the event has been going on for 8 decades, it definitely shows no signs of old age. In fact, this year’s show “LAYERS” presents a decidedly modern take on fashion. A “who’s who” of volunteer models will walk down the runway wearing designs from some of the best names in fashion including: Frances Heffernan, The Lake Forest Shop, Loro Piana, Luca Luca, Neapolitan, p.45, Penny's From Heaven, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tory Burch and Valentino.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood and his wife, Sarah, are holding the 6th Annual Kerry Wood Strike Zone Celebrity Bowling Tournament. Over the years with this fundraiser, they have raised over 2 million dollars for children in and around the Chicagoland area!

I can’t believe this is the 20th anniversary of Green Tie Ball! I remember when I was graduating college and wanted to get involved in one charity that I knew could allow me to make a difference. I had always heard the best party of the year was called Green Tie Ball, so I did my research and found it was so much more than that I had to get involved.

I am constantly asked by customers to lend tips and tricks on anything pastry related. I lend such advice, including the importance of selecting the finest and freshest ingredients available, and making sure you’re always using the right tool to execute the right technique. Recently, I found myself in a complete role reversal! I was asked by Food Network Challenge (picture above is of all the teams!) to compete in creating a 3-foot tall moving dinosaur cake. The process of making this is as daunting as it sounds.

What if my avatar literally came to life and spoke to people about a gigantic party to celebrate his 2nd birthday as the "person" behind all my social media platforms (facebook, twitter, blog..) that had been communicating with tens of thousands of people with similar interests for the last 2 years? And what if he explained in a really fun way that this huge party would benefit one of our favorite philanthropic missions, feeding people in need. Well, that was the crazy idea we came up with at Rockit Ranch Productions 6 months ago when we produced the attached video- we just never thought we would actually win awards for it!!??!

Nearly 100,000 refugees live in Kenya and are forced to live daily with rape, abuse, forced marriage, and HIV. These victims often have nothing to turn to and little hope for a future. Chicago-based organization Heshima Kenya made it’s mission to to make a change and provide refugee minors with shelter, medical care, counseling, and emotional support. A division of Heshima Kenya is the Maisha (in Swahili means “Life”) Collective – an income-generating project of Heshima Kenya that empowers refugee girls to mange a business collective that designs and produces a lines of hand-dyed scarves.

Ryan Dempster is a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and has over thirteen years of MLB experience. He has been with the Cubs for the past eight years! His daughter, Riley, was born in 2009 with the genetic disorder 22q, which prompted him and his wife to start the Dempster Family foundation. The disease is a chromosomal abnormality that causes a very wide range of health issues. Not only does the disease cause developmental issues, but it also is the source of heart defects, autism, and immune system problems. Currently, a cure does not exist and children suffering from the disease require significant medical attention.

The Fourth of July has just passed but let’s not let the celebration and support for our troops simmer down. There is a new movie out called Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good that has a way of helping us...

Hi readers! This is Stephanie Castagnier, I'm a friend of Billy's, but you probably know me from NBC's The Apprentice, the 2010 season.  I wanted to share an event with you that I hold near and dear to my...