Pausing for a Cause
Mental health is an enormous elephant in the room in general, but especially in the food and wine industry. Pausing for the Cause was born in the spring of 2018. I was caught off guard by how much the death of Anthony Bourdain affected me. It was right on the tail of another friend’s death by suicide in Washington DC, and I felt compelled to DO something to change what felt like a not uncommon phenomenon in the food and wine world. Long hours, menial wages in many instances, lots of alcohol and drugs – it was the perfect mental health storm for folks in the industry. So I reached out to a few friends and floated the idea of an event to raise awareness of suicide and to “pause for the cause.” Noah Sandoval, the two Michelin star Executive Chef and owner of Oriole, Aaron McManus, award-winning sommelier at Oriole, and Chef Stephen Gillanders the chef and owner of the Jean Banchet award-winning S.K.Y. restaurant were immediately on board, and we hosted our first fundraising dinner in September of 2018 to support suicide prevention. It was an incredible evening, with wonderful food and wine, but also filled with important stories of hope and healing. We were able to donate all of the proceeds to Vibrant Emotional Health, the administrators of the Lifeline.
The event was so overwhelmingly successful, we knew we had to do it again the following year. In September 2019, Oriole and S.K.Y. partnered again to create an exclusive tasting menu to share on the magical evening. As with year one, we invited our guests to bring rare or unique wines to pair with the meal and to share with each other, creating a joyous and heartfelt evening of personal stories and care for the restaurant community.
Vibrant President & CEO, Kim Williams, joined us for the event and, during her remarks, said, “…to have two of Chicago’s celebrated restaurant teams come together to raise awareness and promote emotional wellness is particularly gratifying. The teams at S.K.Y. and Oriole are showing true leadership in bringing the industry together to offer support and help save lives.”
The 2019 event raised over $30,000 to support Vibrant’s suicide prevention and emotional wellness efforts. Our goal for 2020, of course, was to exceed the previous two years in every way, especially to again double our donations to Vibrant. We have had to shelve that night this year for obvious safety concerns but we are determined to join together in 2021 to recreate our dinner evening, and to blow the roof off again.
- Rebecca Friedlander
Top:
Rebecca Friedlander
Organizer, Pausing for the Cause
Aaron McManus
Sommelier, Oriole
Bottom:
Noah Sandoval (Left)
Executive Chef & Owner, Oriole
Stephen Gillanders (Right)
Chef & Owner, S.K.Y.
Good Stewards
$100,000+
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Drizly, Inc.
Facebook
Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
$20,000–$49,999
Arlene and Jerome Levine
Charles and Katie Fitzgerald
Laurie Kayden Foundation
Lawrence and Karyn Calcano
Logan Paul
Magellan Health
Oriole
Robert and Kate Niehaus Foundation
S.K.Y.
The Allergan Foundation
1 Anonymous Donor
$10,000-$19,999
Alkermes, Inc.
Baudville's Helping Hand
Chapman Perelman Foundation
Jennifer Ashley, Ph.D.
NFL Foundation
Susan Morgan
Susan Zirinsky and Joseph F. Peyronnin, III
Tim Swett
Tom Berry
2 Anonymous Donors
$5,000–$9,999
Alison Lewis
Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund
Chrystie Boucree-Price and Corbett Price
Emily Robins
Goldman Sachs
John and Janet Robinson
Michael Nissan, Esq.
Peter and Josephine Grayson Foundation
Ralph and Eileen Swett Foundation
Self-Care Is For Everyone, LLC
STACK Infrastructure
Taconic Investment Partners, LLC
Walt Disney Television
1 Anonymous Donor
$2,500–$4,999
Capital One
Chaunna Brooke
The Crew's Nest
Friends With Benefit Charity Events
Globality
Intrado
J. Joe Ricketts
Jerri Dickseski
Linda Lindman, Esq.
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
Linda and Steven Marcus
Michael Seigal
Phillip Beyer
Robert and Paula Borsody
Sander Koyfman
Scott Cutler
Stephanie Tran
Surf Taco
Systems & Methods, Inc
Tuhina De O'Connor
1 Anonymous Donor
$1,000–$2,499
The 2492 Fund
4C Insights
Adam Potts
AJB Photography
Alana Chaness
Allison Evron
Amanda Lee
Amanda Mackenzie
Andrea Mathews
Apple, Inc.
Austin Madden
Belvedere Trading
Book Clubs 4 Change
Brice Perdue
Bridget Magnor
Bruce Bolieau
Carahsoft Technology Corp
Carol and Keith Charles McLean-Shinaman
Carol Ozmer
Chad Nuelle
Cockroach Labs, Inc.
Craig Romei
Dan and Bonnie Sandman
Danielle Harris
The David & Judy Shore Foundation
Dominion Diagnostics, LLC
Elise Byrnes
Evangelina Tange
Foundation to Decrease World Suck
Google, Inc.
Grant H. Brenner, M.D.
The Henry Levy Group
Hoghead Gaming
Ilicia Silverman
The Isabel & David Mahalick Foundation
Jack and Jill of America, Inc. - Columbia, MD Chapter
Jacob Kamaras
James L. Garard, Jr.
Jeff Stevens
Jeffrey Schuecking
Jenna Janicki
Jennifer Goodrich
Jocelyn Walters
John Guerrini
Jon and Nancy Glaser
Jon-Michael Frank
Joseph Doyle
Julie and Jeff Pate
Kaila Van Akkeren
Katharine Hegamyer
Kevin and Sheri Danehy
Kimberly and Daniel Williams
Kweku Obed
Kymberly Myers
Linda and Jeff Warner
Linda Keller
Lisa and James Wilson
Lynn D. Sherman and Henry J. Halperin
Lynne and Richard Kaiser
Marshal Allshouse
Melody Kurson
Michael Bonventre and Melanie Pflaum
Michael Gotzsche and Mary Moench
Microsoft
Miel de Botton
Miranda Kenney
Nathan Baum
Netflix
Pam Wagner
Patrick McCormick
Pegeen dosSantos
Perry and Stephanie Chlan
Pier Six Press
Pocono Mountain School District
Policy Research Associates, Inc.
Rachel MacPherson
Rakesh Bhalla
Ray and Lauren Steele
Ryan Johnson
Robert M. and Ginger L. Chang
Robert Nash
Ryan Young
Sara MacAllaster
Scott Nichols
Seattle Foundation
Seth Feuerstein, M.D., J.D.
Seth Katz
Sheilah and Perry Ashley
Sigma Chi Fraternity - Phi Phi Chapter
Simeon Carson
Steven Tallia
Thomas Berquist
Thomas Hutchinson
Tonia Schneider
United Way of Greenville County, Inc.
Vincent Verrico
16 Anonymous Donors
Financials
Vibrant’s 5-Year Growth
