![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WNCAP-Dining-Out-Servers-and-Sandwich-Board-Composite-DOFL-2018.png-Photo-courtesy-of-WNCAP.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dining Out For Life (DOFL), an annual event to raise funds for HIV prevention and care, will take place in Asheville on Thursday, April 25. During the event, local restaurants will donate 20 percent of their gross sales to Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP). \u201cThousands of people in Western North Carolina are living with HIV and Hepatitis C,\u201d says WNCAP executive director Antonio del Toro. \u201cMany aren\u2019t aware of their status and still more are at risk of contracting blood-borne viruses. We have the tools to eliminate HIV and Hepatitis C in our community and to empower those living with HIV to live full and healthy lives. But we need financial support to help those in desperate need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s event raised more than $130,000 and, with several new participating restaurants and a new marketing strategy, this year\u2019s DOFL is poised to raise even more. \u201cDOFL is an event that brings together two distinctive Asheville characteristics: a love of fine local cuisine and a desire to give back to the community,\u201d says del Toro. \u201cContributing to HIV prevention and care while dining out at a fabulous local restaurant? There\u2019s nothing more Asheville than that! That\u2019s why I think we\u2019re consistently in the top ten DOFL cities, beating out larger cities like New York, Chicago and Atlanta, year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to dining at participating restaurants on April 25, those interested in helping WNCAP can join a team of more than 250 DOFL ambassadors. \u201cBecoming a DOFL Ambassador is a great way to have fun and give back to your community,\u201d says del Toro. \u201cAmbassadors fill their favorite restaurant with friends, family and coworkers, and invite diners to enter the DOFL raffle.\u201d Dee Dee Allen has served as an ambassador for DOFL at West Asheville restaurants in past years. \u201cI volunteer as a DOFL Ambassador because helping those who are living with HIV is important to me; as a friend, an ally and a human being,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing an ambassador is one way that I can help with that. It\u2019s also lots of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information and a list of participating restaurants, visit WNCAP.org\/ DOFL. If you\u2019d like more information about becoming a DOFL Ambassador, please contact Chris Winebrenner at wncapvolunteer@wncap.org or call (828) 252-7489.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dining Out For Life, an annual event to raise funds for HIV prevention and care, will take place in Asheville on Thursday, April 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":26795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,102,112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event-posts","category-food","category-fundraisers"],"yoast_head":"\n