CHICAGO - August 1, 2017 – Nearly 30 local restaurants and culinary partners will unite in support of mentorship at the seventh annual Shine & Dine benefiting Step Up on August 10, 2017. During the event, the mentorship nonprofit will honor its alumna Natalie Avila for inspiring women and girls to fulfill their potential.
The event will move to new venue Revel Fulton Market (1215 West Fulton Market) and is expected to welcome 700 guests. Between 6:00-10:00 p.m., guests will sip and snack their way through tasting stations from Chicago's top eateries, while raising funds for Step Up's mentorship programs for high school girls.
"We're excited to celebrate our alumna Natalie at the seventh annual Shine & Dine," explains Jenni Luke, Step Up CEO. "The culinary evening unites the community for a terrific celebration, and also raises vital funds that enable our mentorship programs to reach even more teen girls in Chicago."
Christine Cikowski of Honey Butter Fried Chicken and Sunday Dinner Club returns as Chef Chair and will host a tasting station alongside ASAP Poke, Bang Bang Pie Shop, bellyQ, Duck Duck Goat, Eden, Eight Bar and Patio, Eno, Floriole, Foiled Cupcakes, Found Kitchen, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, Ivy Room, Le Sirena Clandestina, Le Colonial, Lifeway, Nico Osteria, Ronero, Sixteen, Terzo, The Butcher & Larder, The Signature Room, The Winchester and Troquet. Beverage partners include Beam Suntory, MillerCoors and O'Neill Vintners & Distillers.
Avila, a member of Step Up's Class of 2016 and now Coe College's (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Class of 2020, will share her Step Up story during the event's brief program.
Step Up propels teen girls living or going to school in under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential by empowering them to become confident, college-bound and career-focused.
The local chapter will look to increase its reach across the city this coming school year by enrolling 540 girls from eight high school partners.
Shine & Dine is chaired by Andrya Smith, of PwC. Marcy Twete, of ArcelorMittal, chairs the Step Up Chicago chapter board of directors and sits on Step Up's national board of directors with past national chair, Angela Elbert (Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg), and Shayna Cook (Goldman Ismail LLP).
The event also receives support from platinum sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, ArcelorMittal and Ulta Beauty, along with gold sponsor PwC. Media partners include Modern Luxury CS and iHeartMedia Chicago.
Tickets are $300 for general admission and can be purchased at www.suwn.org/sd.
ABOUT STEP UP
Step Up believes all girls should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Through after-school and weekend mentorship programs, the nonprofit works with girls from under-resourced communities on becoming confident, college-bound, career-focused, and ready to join the next generation of professional women. Connect at suwn.org.
