Nearly 100 area restaurants are taking part in a fundraising effort today to support more than 11,000 people living with or at high risk for HIV/AIDS in Western New York. It's called "Dining Out for Life" and "all you have to donate is your appetite."
Participating restaurants will donate between 25-100-percent of the day's food sales to Evergreen Health Services, an organization dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS locally. Evergreen also provides vital services to individuals living with the disease.
Western New York Dining Out for Life Co-Chair Joan Crosby calls it a "banner year" with nearly 100 restaurants joining the effort to raise money for such a good cause. She says "We're really proud of the fact that no one is ever refused services (at Evergreen) because of their inability to pay." Crosby says "It's just a win-win situation. You go and you eat and the restaurant will donate for you."
Dining Out for Life is a national event, this is the 12th year Western New York has been involved.