I received an invitation via Twitter to attend a Fundraiser at Claim Jumper….I read the link which was an invitation to Claim Jumper for their Community Support Event to raise funds for Leukemia/Lymphoma fight against blood cancers. Debbi Miller (also known as @TheBigDebowski on Twitter) was putting it all together. Here is a little blurb from her Facebook Page:

“Claim Jumper at South Coast Plaza has generously offered to host a Community Support Event wherein 15% of all purchases made on March 18 with a flyer (found below in the “photos” section) will go toward my LLS fundraising.

What’s even more awesome is that it’s good all day — 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. — and includes food, beverage AND happy hour purchases (pre-tax) AND it’s also good on both dine-in and take-out orders!

The only requirement is that you bring the flyer with you and present it when you order. Go any time of the day — lunch, afternoon, happy hour, dinner — with friends, family or co-workers (tweetups?!); great excuse to go out to eat and support a great cause at the same time”.

I was curious. Was this something that Claim Jumper was known for, or was it the first time they had sponsored such an event? I marked my calendar and set out to get some answers!

I met with Brett Lowe, the Manger of the South Coast Claim Jumper Location.

I found him to be warm and deeply committed to Claim Jumper and it’s far reaching community roots. I was totally unaware until Brett told me that Claim Jumper had been actively supporting different Charities and Organizations for the last 20 years!

Me: What Charities or Events is Claim Jumper involved with?

Brett: Craig Nickeloff actually started contributing to the community 20 years ago through the Special Olympics.

Me: How has this grown?

Brett: We’ve gone from holding Community Support Nights for only the Special Olympics to Girl Scouts, Local Baseball Teams, Pet Fund Raisers, and we’re extremely proud of our “Tip-A-Cop” evening.

Me: What’s that?

Brett: Off duty Police Officers work alongside Claim Jumper Servers to raise money for the Special Olympics

Our next “Tip-A-Cop” Event is scheduled for April 8 and is held at EVERY Claim Jumper Location.

Me: How do you advertise?

Brett: We used to use traditional means such a newspaper and radio but it wasn’t cost effective. We are now using a lot of online media such as Twitter and Facebook.

Me: What does someone have to do to hold a Community Support Event?

Brett: You can contact us via one of our Hospitality Partners

We print out the flyers for your event, or you can put the flyer online and have people print their own.

Me: What happens next?

Brett: You spread the word and people show up, present the coupon and 15% of your bill is donated to your cause.

Me: How much time in preparation does one need?

Brett: 3 weeks to a month is usually plenty of time to get the word out.

So there you go! Another Community Builder recommendation for you! Do you have someone that is an active Community Builder? Would you like us to write a blog about them? Please contact me:

You may have already read the blog I posted about Chaparosa Grill and their generous donation to Haiti. I mentioned in my blog that Tony holds monthly cooking demonstrations at both of his locations.

I have eaten there before and always enjoyed the food so of course I HAD to see for myself what this demonstration was about! I am SO glad I did!

When I arrived, I saw that Tony had set everything up in the patio…heaters were on (which was nice because it was a little chilly out…yes, even for California), and there were two long tables set up with what seemed like regulars.

I promptly told them all that I was going to be posting a blog about Tony and the Chaparosa Grill and asked permission to take pictures throughout the evening and all agreed.

Dinner started with an appetizer of Spinach and Ricotta Crepes…

Followed by the main course, Indian Spiced Lamb Shank

(my Sister in Law Adrienne diving in)

(me following suit)

and then dessert, homemade Butterscotch pudding.

Wine was flowing and so was the coffee.

Tony’s presentation was flawless…he shared the recipes with us and then showed us step by step how to put it all together….he regaled us with stories from his home and a wonderful evening was had by all.

Visit their website and find out about the next cooking demonstration and join them for a wonderful evening off the beaten path!
http://chaparosagrill.com