The Culinary Fund Raiser Hosted By Pam & Dr. Elliot Cazes Raised $11,000 For โFaces Of Courage!โย
Mother Natureโs best efforts couldnโt keep nearly 200 people from getting โA Taste of NโAwlinsโ โ the Cajun culinary experience hosted by long-time New Tampa residents Pam and Dr. Elliot Cazes at the Arbor Greene Community Club on Aug. 23 that raised nearly $11,000 for the New Tampa-based nonprofit called Faces of Courage.
Fellow New Tampa resident Peggie Sherry, who founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Faces of Courage in 2004 to provide day outings, educational workshops and medically supervised overnight camps for women, children and families touched by all types of cancer and blood disorders โ all at no cost โ was thrilled with the event.
โApparently, Mother Nature decided โA Taste of NโAwlinsโ needed a little extra Louisiana weather,โ Peggie said, โbut despite the torrential downpour, the local community showed up, umbrellas in hand and ready to eat, laugh, bid, buy raffle tickets and support Faces of Courage. We cannot begin to thank Dr./Chef Elliot Cazes and his hardworking wife Pam enough for this fund raiser.โ
Elliot, Pam and their team of volunteers (top photo) provided some of the most delicious chicken & andouille sausage gumbo this reporter has had (and Iโve spent some time in New Orleans), plus equally authentic Cajun-style red beans & rice and three different Poโ Boy sandwiches โ roast beef, turkey and andouille sausage.ย
Elliot has been cooking food for Faces of Courageโs camps โfor about 20 years now,โ he said, โand Peggie and her team are serving such an important role for people struggling with cancer and their families. But, the reason Pam and I put together this fund raiser was because Peggie said she didnโt have enough money to fund her upcoming Womenโs Cancer Camp (being held Sept. 18-20 at Rotaryโs Camp Florida in Brandon).โ
โThis wasnโt just a fund raiser,โ Peggie added. โIt was a community coming together for one very important reason: to help raise the final $10,000 we needed to fund that Womenโs Camp.โ
She added, โElliot and Pam really took this on. They corralled just about everyone they knew โ and probably a few they didnโt โ to help make this event happen. They collected more than 80 donated gift cards, secured an amazing assortment of silent auction and raffle items, recruited volunteers and then, rolled up their sleeves and worked right alongside everyone else.
โAnd, what a team they put together! People chopped, grilled, cooked, carried, decorated, set up, cleaned up, served food, sold water, sold raffle tickets, worked registration, managed auction items and did whatever else needed to be done!โ
And, by the end of the day, the โTaste of NโAwlinsโ not only met that $10,000 goal, it exceeded it.
Peggie was clearly moved by the enormity of what was accomplished in just a few short hours on a day when the skies opened up, but the members of the local community opened up their hearts โ and wallets โ even more. She provided us with a list of all 20 of the eventโs volunteers and every one of the nearly 90 businesses that provided anything for โA Taste of NโAwlins.โ Iโm just sorry I didnโt have room here to print those lists.
Peggie also thanked, โevery single person who walked through those doors. You could have looked at that rain and stayed home. Instead, you showed up. You ate. You bid. You bought raffle tickets. You volunteered. You donated. You laughed. And most important, you helped make sure women facing cancer can come to camp completely FREE of charge!
โRain couldnโt stop this crowd โ and cancer wonโt stop us either. From all of us at Faces of Courage, THANK YOU!โ
For more information about (or to donate to) Faces of Courage, visit FacesofCourage.org.ย
