DIRTY SHOES HELP FEED THE HUNGRY

Meals in a Rush, CulturePrep & Kevin Taylor Restaurants Introduce Shine-n-Dine & Wine

Central City Opera: July 2011

Central City Opera: July 2011
Tim Taylor, G.M. for Kevin Taylor Restaurants, Susan, Chris and Kirstin Chavez star of “Carmen” sit down to enjoy a meal together at Rouge. Susan and Chris won “A Night with Carmen” through a Shine -n- Dine & Wine fundraising contest.

When Channel 9’s Emmy Award Winning TV Host Tawnya Rush with Meals in a Rush met CulturePrep’s Peter Vogel through Denver’s local daytime show Colorado & Company she was quickly interested in learning more about the work he has been conducting for 11 years in Uganda East Africa. A big part of his mission is feeding hundreds of hungry children in a large slum area just outside Jinja, Uganda’s second largest city. Tawnya quickly realized she must help. So much so, that Ms. Rush recently traveled to Uganda to see for herself the strong need to feed.

Together, Peter and Tawnya formed Shine-n-Dine & Wine with the help of Tim Taylor, General Manager of Kevin Taylor Restaurants. It’s a partnership that combines old-fashioned shoe-shining while enjoying a delicious dish from Kevin Taylor Restaurants and a glass of wine. This meal deal combo is offered to theater patrons for any donation – with 100% of proceeds used to feed the children in Uganda and feed people locally in Denver. Tawnya comments saying, “After my trip to Africa, I realized how fortunate we are to eat whenever we want. These children go hungry until they get their (1) meal at lunch at school. That’s it and they’re so grateful! I also realize through my cooking segment Meals in a Rush that I must too continue feeding those who are hungry in Denver. Food is the center of everyone’s life.”

Shine-n-Dine & Wine has already been a big hit with Central City Opera House, Littleton Town Hall Arts Center, and the Colorado Ballet at Denver Center for Performing Arts. CulturePreps’s Vogel says, “It’s simple. You come out to enjoy a show, leave your dress shoes with our shoe-shining crew (we provide the booties to wear) eat, drink, and be merry!”