CARING WITH CUISINE: HOW VISIT ORLANDO’S MAGIC DINING EXPERIENCE SUPPORTS LOCAL NON-PROFITS
Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining annual “Eat for Good” experience serves the under-resourced while giving patrons a taste of the city’s flavor. We spoke with George Aguel, president & CEO of Visit Orlando to learn more about this annual event and why it represents the heart of Orlando.
What is the purpose of the Magical Dining experience?
Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining is the most powerful way our organization makes a difference. In addition to showcasing our destination’s incredible culinary scene, we’re giving back to non-profit organizations helping children right here in our community.
Magical Dining has grown so much in the last 14 years. We had two primary objectives with the launch of our dining program. First, we wanted to build on Orlando’s reputation as a fine-dining destination. We have a collection of diverse restaurants led by amazing celebrity chefs, as well as local culinary talent, including James Beard Award-nominated chefs, making their mark on Orlando. Then, we looked at how we could support our local restaurant partners during our shoulder season, which is typically a slower period for tourism between the end of the summer holidays and the beginning of our convention and fall travel seasons. Each year, we ask our restaurants to offer a three-course prix fixe meal for $35, and a dollar from every meal goes to local charities. By encouraging locals and regional visitors to dine at local upscale restaurants during this time, we continue to build on our evolving food scene, help restaurants with incremental sales, and give back to our community.
How have businesses and non-profits responded to the Magical Dining experience?
We’ve had a terrific response from our restaurant partners on Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining and its popularity continues to grow. We originally started the program with less than 30 restaurants, and this year, we’ve had participation from record-breaking 120+ restaurants throughout the destination. As for non-profits, we’ve donated to a wide variety of causes, from therapeutic horseback riding programs to developing meaningful peer-to-peer programming in schools.
How have you seen this program make a direct impact on people in your community?
Last year, one of our chosen charities was Best Buddies, whose programs facilitate one-to-one friendships between students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their school-age peers. The donation from Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining allowed them to expand into middle schools, which is so important because these early years can be a challenging time for everyone, and are often the formative years for learning awareness, acceptance and friendship with those who are different. And this is just one of a dozen worthy charities these funds have helped, and each has their own meaningful way of creating a better world for children in need.
How do you support event planners who are looking to serve and give back at an event in Orlando?
Visit Orlando’s Destination Services Team is an incredible resource for planners looking to add a CSR component to their event. They can help groups match with non-profit organizations for volunteer projects that are meaningful to their attendees. Whether it is volunteering to assemble healthy hygiene kits with donated soaps, shampoos, etc. from our local hotels to help victims of disasters, to creating magical vacations for terminally ill children and their families, Orlando has countless ways to give back that are inspiring and uplifting and can accommodate groups of all sizes.
#wherefaithmeets #givingback #meetingplanners #visitorlando
This interview by Drew Brown is a FEATURE in Aspire Magazine, Winter 2020 Edition.
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