Southern Corrosion President Jim Skilton sought to assist the Union Mission of Roanoke Rapids.
The organization serves the community by helping people experiencing homelessness and providing shelter, food, clothing, and friendship to those in need.
The Lake Gaston Gazette-Observer reported Skilton successfully approached the WatersView Restaurant team in Littleton to gauge their interest in hosting a fundraiser to raise proceeds for the faith-based organization.
At 6 p.m. on February 19, WatersView hosts a wine dinner fundraiser to support the Union Mission of Roanoke Rapids.
WatersView General Manager Jack Lineberger hopes to raise $100,000 for the organization.
In the gallery: The Grimms and Lawson
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“Our guests are familiar with our Executive Chef Ryan Grimm, and his food pairings that go with these wines is just phenomenal, so we thought what better way to do a fundraising event than to do a wine dinner to support the Mission,” Lineberger said. “There are so many avenues to where the money raised will support the local community. WatersView always tries to be involved in anything community.”
The six-course meal paired with wines starts with pan-seared scallops, followed by pear and gorgonzola salad, butternut squash dip, crab cake, beef bourguignon, and almond cake.
The fundraiser also features silent auctions between meal courses with Carolina Hurricanes merchandise and other items.
Skilton is in the process of gathering more merchandise for the silent auctions.
The event will host 50 guests at $200 a ticket. Should 50 tickets get purchased, a sold-out wine dinner raises $10,000.
Call 252-586-2814 to purchase tickets.
Reaching the goal of $100,000 depends on tax-deductible donations to the Union Mission from other avenues.
Kimberly Grimm is handling the social media aspect of the event for WatersView.
The event's GoFundMe page can be found at this link
People visiting the lake can donate by dropping off a check at the restaurant’s 2107 Eaton Ferry Road site.
Contributors receive a 501c3 tax-deductible receipt.
Steve Eudy of Empire Wine Distributing agreed to provide the wine for the event. U.S. Foods will supply the food for Ryan Grimm to prepare. The WatersView staff is all-in on the wine dinner.
“Nobody is getting paid,” Lineberger said. “Every dollar and every penny is going to the Union Mission. The more funding they have, the more ability they have to affect change and help in the community.”
Skilton emphasized that the Union Mission needs a lot of money to provide the services it delivers to the community.
The event is expected to supply the organization with tools to come closer to fulfilling its mission.
“They don’t have a cost problem; they have a revenue problem,” Skilton said. “They’re just not generating enough revenue for what they are doing. They have their thrift stores and things, but it just isn’t enough to satisfy viability going forward.”
Sabrina Lawson, Union Mission executive director, is looking forward to the fundraising dinner. She was pleased with the event plans and the WatersView Restaurant site to raise revenue for the mission. Lawson seeks to add shelters for women and children to the organization's services, and the dinner could bring the Union Mission closer to that goal.
Skilton hopes the $100,000 goal is met.
However, he said even if the event falls short of the goal, the proceeds raised will undoubtedly assist the Union Mission in providing its services to the community.
Skilton wanted to do a fundraiser for the Union Mission for some time.
He first considered partnering with other entities to host a benefit golf tournament.
Something spurred him to approach WatersView and bounce a few ideas around to see what they could come up with. He’s pleased with the results of the conversations with the restaurant’s leaders.
“They were all in,” Skilton said. “It’s amazing. We couldn’t have picked a better partner. They are all vigorously involved with the planning. It’s almost like the cause is theirs. I’m pretty amazed with what they are willing to do.”
