Richard Hilaire (second from right in photo, in gray suit), Treasurer of the Cambridge Licensee Advisory Board (CLAB), presented gift checks to five local non-profit programs at a gathering on Wednesday, September 18, at the Middle East Restaurant in Central Square. The checks were a share of the proceeds from Taste of Cambridge, CLAB's annual food- and drink-sampling gala, which took place July 11 at University Park on Sidney Street. Taste of Cambridge features signature refreshments offered by local restaurants and dealers in specialty foods and drinks.
Robin Lapidus, Executive Director of the Central Square Business Association and a co-chair of Taste of Cambridge, opened the event. She and Owen Kennett, manager of the popular Massachusetts Avenue restaurant/night club, welcomed representatives from local businesses and charities – about 30 people in all.
This year's beneficiary organizations, and the staff members shown accepting checks for them from CLAB Treasurer Richard Hilaire, were:
-- CASPAR, Inc. (Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Rehabilitation) – Odessa Deffenbaugh, Program Director
-- CHAF (Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund) – Sally Bunch, Program Director
-- On The Rise, Inc. – Jennifer Tsolas, Development and Communications Director
-- Food For Free – Sasha Purpura, Executive Director
-- Faith Kitchen Corporation – Pastor Tim Stein of Faith Lutheran Church
The five non-profits offer programs that include aid for the homeless and for people confronting substance abuse and addiction – objectives that mesh well with CLAB’s mission. CLAB works to prevent underage drinking and supports efforts to prohibit sales to minors. The ceremonial check to CASPAR was for $10,000; the other four were for $2,500 each.
“The amount that Taste of Cambridge cleared – $74,800 – was the highest in eleven years,” Hilaire said. The event had to be postponed twice on account of weather, raising operating costs, which he pegged at about $25,000. However, he noted, the costs were well managed, and the net was some $50,000 of which $30,000 went to charity.
“Financially it was one of the best,” he said.
