Better get your green on: The “Raisin’ the Green” St. Patrick’s Day-themed celebration to benefit area causes returns to the Magnolia Grill in Fort Walton Beach on March 15 after a five-plus-year pause.
The fundraiser will benefit the Air Force Enlisted Village/Bob Hope Village in Shalimar and Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida. It had been held annually before the COVID shutdown and put on hold afterward – until now.
“We have a lot of fun,” said Tom Rice, who along with his wife, Peggy, own and operate Magnolia Grill, which is located in a house that dates back to 1910on historic Brooks Street.
Tom Rice said the event includes Irish decor and music and the signature meal of corned beef and cabbage, boiled potatoes and rolls for a $15 donation. Beverages cost additional. The event will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 15 at Magnolia Grill, 157 Brooks St. SE, Fort Walton Beach. Call 850-302-0266 for more details.
Tom Rice said the goal is to raise at least $5,000 for the two charitable organizations.
Rice said he has visited Ireland, and the signature dish is an Americanized version of an Irish tradition. The restaurant is donating the food, wine and beer for the fundraiser and “100% of proceeds” go to the two charitable outreaches.
Rice described Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida as a non-denomination provider of help. In fact, the outreach’s website, ccnwfl.org, states that last year, “90% of those (CCNWFL) served were not Catholic.”
CCNWFL provided nearly $1.7 million in critical assistance to local communities with almost 40,000 people getting help from the organization’s pantry. Additional CCNWFL programs helped the homeless, provided immigration assistance, extended help for the Christmas season, and more.
Rice is on the board of directors of the roughly 580-resident Air Force Enlisted Village community.
The Air Force Enlisted Village (AFEV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization “whose core mission is to provide a safe, secure home for surviving spouses of retired enlisted U.S. Air Force personnel,” according to a spokesperson.
Financial assistance nay be available for qualified applicants. AFEV.us details resident qualifications.
The facility includes six Bob Hope Village independent living housing facilities and Hawthorn House Assisted Living and Memory Care.
The list of supporters of the facility over the years has included former President Gerald Ford, Col. Bob W. Gates and famous comedian and supporter of American troops, Bob Hope, according to the website.
Hope performed benefits for the AFEV and served as an honorary capital campaign chairman for the facility, the website states.
The website indicates the AFEV Foundation purchased Air Force land in 1980 for a Bob Hope Village. The most recent housing addition was in 2020 for Bob Hope Village No. 6, which adds “63 new units to the community,” the website states.
One- and two-bedroom apartments are available in community, with a host of resident amenities. The entire AFEV complex covers 125 acres near Eglin Air Force Base.
The “Raisin’ the Green” fundraiser was first suggested to the Rices by former Northwest Florida Daily News reporter Kelly Humphrey.
Humphrey worked with the Northwest Florida Daily News until 2010, when she suffered kidney failure and underwent a kidney transplant. She returned to the paper a few years later and in 2017 made a career change and is currently serving as a teacher at Niceville High School.
Humphrey stated in an email that she thought of a St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser in 2013 when she served as marketing director for the Fort Walton Beach office of Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida.
“My family always had corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, and I thought that other people might enjoy that tradition as well. It turns out that Tom makes an absolutely delicious corned beef,” she wrote.
Humphrey thought of approaching the Rices with the idea, as they “often hosted fundraisers on Sundays, the only day that the Magnolia Grill is closed.”
“Tom and Peggy Rice are the real heroes of this event. They are incredibly generous people who give up their only day off to support dozens of charitable organizations in our community,” Humphrey said.
“In addition to the wonderful food, the “Raisin’ the Green” features delightful Irish music and is a great way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day,” she wrote.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Celebrate a bit early: St. Patrick’s Day-themed fundraiser returns
Reporting by Andy Fillmore, For the Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
