I remember the second chocolate charity event in Bloomington back in 1998, about eight month after I moved to Indiana. This February, the number of charities and organizations using chocolate to raise money for several worthy causes has grown so much, that it fill all of the month and so the Month of Chocolate has been born. To tell us more about the month long opportunities to get chocolate and support charities, is Stephanie Shelton, the Director of Development for LIFEDesigns.
This multi-charity series of events started as just an evening back in 1997. Why do you think more and more charities and organizations have been joining up?
I think it has a lot to do with the growth in popularity of the events. I've had several conversations in the past year with organizations that want to participate who have heard about the event series, but weren't sure how to get involved in hosting an event. We've seen some significant growth in people turning in stamped chocolate passports at the end of the series, and we're starting to be able to track return visitors now across the series as well. It's really neat to see how it's grown and evolved to more of a community event over the past 5 years.
How many of the 10+ events during February 2020, will directly result in donations to Life Designs?
This year there are 2 restaurant promotions, which will both result in donations to LIFEDesigns, and 10 events, 6 of which result in donations for LIFEDesigns. The other 4 events support other local non-profits: WonderLab, Rhino's Youth Center, Bloomington Moose Lodge, and Down Syndrome Family Connection. We're truly honored to be able to partner with these other non-profits to help them raise money for their causes as well.
Some of the events and partnerships return every year, but as Life Designs marks 23 years of the chocolatey themed fundraising, which allies have been partnered with you for longest?
To the best of my knowledge, The Bloomington Moose Lodge is by far our longest partner. Rhino's Youth Center has also been involved for a very long time. Though I've only been involved for the past 5 years, so my history may not be totally complete. I can tell you though that Bell Trace, Osmon Chiropractic Center, The Bloomington Watercolor Society, WonderLab, and Down Syndrome Family Connection all joined around the time I started. The restaurants and most of the other event partners have been involved for the past 2-3 years, or are not involved every year, but do host an event every few years.
Who are the new organizations joining in the chocolatey events in 2020?
Cardinal Spirits and Ekah Yoga are the two new organizations involved this year. We're excited to see what new and exciting chocolate ideas they have in store for us!
How do your clients at Life Designs help out at any of the events we see listed on your website?
Our mission is at the forefront of what we do here...including in all of our fundraising activities. We believe people with disabilities can be and should be included in all activities that people without disabilities are included in. We try to find ways that individual clients can participate specifically related to their personal interests, skills or qualities. For instance, we've had a few clients display their art work at the Art of Chocolate (this year on Feb. 22) to sell. It seems guests really enjoy seeing our clients and purchasing items directly from them. The funds that are from the items our clients sell are theirs to keep. 100% goes to them, and not to the agency. We believe this promotes our mission through giving them the opportunity to share their special talents with the community. It also encourages entrepreneurship, business planning, and other work related skills for our clients.
Another good example is our DJ. We have a client who really enjoys being a DJ. Throughout the year we seek opportunities to invite him to be a DJ at our events. One of his favorite activities each year is preparing for being a DJ at the Art of Chocolate. He and his staff work together to pick out songs for the event related to the theme (this year New Orleans style Jazz). We pay him as we would pay any vendor to DJ for the event, so the experience also encourages entrepreneurship and helps him to gain work experience.
This year, we've got a client who will be playing Jazz piano before dinner, which she's very excited about. She's gotten away from playing for a while, and is really looking forward to the opportunity to hone her skills and get back into music again. She also got an offer from the Bloomington Watercolor Society to play her cello at the gallery opening for We Paint...The Sweet Life. In addition to being a talented musician, she's also an amazing artist and graphic artist. Many of the digital paintings you see in our ads, brochures and other materials were her artistic handiwork.
We always encourage staff and clients to volunteer to stamp passports at all events each year (or attend as guests if they're interested), and whenever we know about someone who wants to be involved in a specific way, we really try to make that happen for them.
I've loved using the Passport myself but this year I see that you also have a cookbook that will be available. Would you tell us more about that such as the number of recipes, where the recipes will come from, and which organizations are helping you put this out?
Yes! We're very excited about the cookbook. It will be called "The Art of Chocolate Recipe Book". This new feature was an idea generated by the Bloomington Watercolor Society, and they deserve a lot of the credit in helping to put this book together, especially their member Jeanne Dutton who has worked very closely with me on this project. We went to a variety of local restaurants, chefs, and regular community members who have a passion for cooking. This year we were able to include 13 local chefs/community members for a total of 17 different chocolate dessert recipes. A few well known chefs/restaurants who will be featured in the book are: Ashley Massie of Sugar & Spice, Linda Armes of Bloomington Chocolate Company, Cardinal Spirits, Dustin Bowman of Lennie's, and Stephanie Laparre of La Vie en Rose. We hope you'll purchase the recipe book this February to learn the rest of the chefs/community members involved, and see the AMAZING recipes they've submitted.
Beyond being local chef recommendations for their favorite chocolate dessert recipes, what really makes this book special is that each of the recipes that was submitted was painted by a member of the Bloomington Watercolor Society. So beside each recipe is an artists rendition of what the finished product will look like. It honestly is one of the most fun projects I've ever worked on, and involves so many people in the community, that I just have a feeling this is going to be very popular and something that hopefully we'll be able to continue in future years. I would recommend that anyone wanting to reserve a recipe book do so early so that we don't run out before you get yours. Books will be for sale at all events for $15.00 each, and can be reserved online early at this form:
Finally, do you have a favorite event that will happen during February 2020 that you make sure you attend every year?
I have to say the Art of Chocolate is my favorite event...it just has so much to offer. I mean who doesn't love a good Mardi Gras party where you can dress up and wear your favorite mask, or collect a new mask from the event each year? There's also the signature chocolate dessert tasting at the event...it may be the only event I know where you get to each your dessert FIRST! :) Finally, the one thing that people seem to really enjoy (in addition to the overall experience: music, wine, chocolate, etc.) is the artist who literally paints chocolate on a live person! Kurt Larsen (local Bloomington artist) has been with us for the past several years and occasionally we've had 2 artists and 2 models! The atmosphere of the event is fun, relaxed, social, and a little bit fancy! We serve a dinner, this year which will be provided by One World Catering. Our theme for dinner is New Orleans Creole, so we'll be offering Classic Etouffee (Shrimp, Chicken, Andouille Sausage), and a Vegetarian Etouffee option.
Although this one is my favorite, there are several other events that I really hope to make it to this year. One being the Down Syndrome Family Connection Cocoa Couture Fashion Show...it's really neat, I always hear great things about WonderLab's After Dark: Chocolate event, and the Ekah Yoga's Cocoa Bliss immersion looks like a GREAT opportunity for a very special Valentine's Day date this year. Every single event on the lineup is a lot of fun, and each event caters to a slightly different audience. So my best recommendation is to try out the ones you're most interested in (I'm sure you won't be disappointed no matter which one you choose). If you attend 3 or more events, you'll receive a FREE 4-piece truffles upon turning in your stamped passport to Bloomington Chocolate Company. 5 of more stamps will get you a FREE 9-piece truffles. If you haven't tried their truffles...you should! :)
I've been to several of these events myself over the years. If I go to any this year, I'll definitely report on it for all of you readers. Who out there is going to attend some of these Month of Chocolate events with me in 2020?
This multi-charity series of events started as just an evening back in 1997. Why do you think more and more charities and organizations have been joining up?
I think it has a lot to do with the growth in popularity of the events. I've had several conversations in the past year with organizations that want to participate who have heard about the event series, but weren't sure how to get involved in hosting an event. We've seen some significant growth in people turning in stamped chocolate passports at the end of the series, and we're starting to be able to track return visitors now across the series as well. It's really neat to see how it's grown and evolved to more of a community event over the past 5 years.
How many of the 10+ events during February 2020, will directly result in donations to Life Designs?
This year there are 2 restaurant promotions, which will both result in donations to LIFEDesigns, and 10 events, 6 of which result in donations for LIFEDesigns. The other 4 events support other local non-profits: WonderLab, Rhino's Youth Center, Bloomington Moose Lodge, and Down Syndrome Family Connection. We're truly honored to be able to partner with these other non-profits to help them raise money for their causes as well.
Some of the events and partnerships return every year, but as Life Designs marks 23 years of the chocolatey themed fundraising, which allies have been partnered with you for longest?
To the best of my knowledge, The Bloomington Moose Lodge is by far our longest partner. Rhino's Youth Center has also been involved for a very long time. Though I've only been involved for the past 5 years, so my history may not be totally complete. I can tell you though that Bell Trace, Osmon Chiropractic Center, The Bloomington Watercolor Society, WonderLab, and Down Syndrome Family Connection all joined around the time I started. The restaurants and most of the other event partners have been involved for the past 2-3 years, or are not involved every year, but do host an event every few years.
Who are the new organizations joining in the chocolatey events in 2020?
Cardinal Spirits and Ekah Yoga are the two new organizations involved this year. We're excited to see what new and exciting chocolate ideas they have in store for us!
How do your clients at Life Designs help out at any of the events we see listed on your website?
Our mission is at the forefront of what we do here...including in all of our fundraising activities. We believe people with disabilities can be and should be included in all activities that people without disabilities are included in. We try to find ways that individual clients can participate specifically related to their personal interests, skills or qualities. For instance, we've had a few clients display their art work at the Art of Chocolate (this year on Feb. 22) to sell. It seems guests really enjoy seeing our clients and purchasing items directly from them. The funds that are from the items our clients sell are theirs to keep. 100% goes to them, and not to the agency. We believe this promotes our mission through giving them the opportunity to share their special talents with the community. It also encourages entrepreneurship, business planning, and other work related skills for our clients.
Another good example is our DJ. We have a client who really enjoys being a DJ. Throughout the year we seek opportunities to invite him to be a DJ at our events. One of his favorite activities each year is preparing for being a DJ at the Art of Chocolate. He and his staff work together to pick out songs for the event related to the theme (this year New Orleans style Jazz). We pay him as we would pay any vendor to DJ for the event, so the experience also encourages entrepreneurship and helps him to gain work experience.
This year, we've got a client who will be playing Jazz piano before dinner, which she's very excited about. She's gotten away from playing for a while, and is really looking forward to the opportunity to hone her skills and get back into music again. She also got an offer from the Bloomington Watercolor Society to play her cello at the gallery opening for We Paint...The Sweet Life. In addition to being a talented musician, she's also an amazing artist and graphic artist. Many of the digital paintings you see in our ads, brochures and other materials were her artistic handiwork.
We always encourage staff and clients to volunteer to stamp passports at all events each year (or attend as guests if they're interested), and whenever we know about someone who wants to be involved in a specific way, we really try to make that happen for them.
I've loved using the Passport myself but this year I see that you also have a cookbook that will be available. Would you tell us more about that such as the number of recipes, where the recipes will come from, and which organizations are helping you put this out?
Yes! We're very excited about the cookbook. It will be called "The Art of Chocolate Recipe Book". This new feature was an idea generated by the Bloomington Watercolor Society, and they deserve a lot of the credit in helping to put this book together, especially their member Jeanne Dutton who has worked very closely with me on this project. We went to a variety of local restaurants, chefs, and regular community members who have a passion for cooking. This year we were able to include 13 local chefs/community members for a total of 17 different chocolate dessert recipes. A few well known chefs/restaurants who will be featured in the book are: Ashley Massie of Sugar & Spice, Linda Armes of Bloomington Chocolate Company, Cardinal Spirits, Dustin Bowman of Lennie's, and Stephanie Laparre of La Vie en Rose. We hope you'll purchase the recipe book this February to learn the rest of the chefs/community members involved, and see the AMAZING recipes they've submitted.
Beyond being local chef recommendations for their favorite chocolate dessert recipes, what really makes this book special is that each of the recipes that was submitted was painted by a member of the Bloomington Watercolor Society. So beside each recipe is an artists rendition of what the finished product will look like. It honestly is one of the most fun projects I've ever worked on, and involves so many people in the community, that I just have a feeling this is going to be very popular and something that hopefully we'll be able to continue in future years. I would recommend that anyone wanting to reserve a recipe book do so early so that we don't run out before you get yours. Books will be for sale at all events for $15.00 each, and can be reserved online early at this form:
Finally, do you have a favorite event that will happen during February 2020 that you make sure you attend every year?
I have to say the Art of Chocolate is my favorite event...it just has so much to offer. I mean who doesn't love a good Mardi Gras party where you can dress up and wear your favorite mask, or collect a new mask from the event each year? There's also the signature chocolate dessert tasting at the event...it may be the only event I know where you get to each your dessert FIRST! :) Finally, the one thing that people seem to really enjoy (in addition to the overall experience: music, wine, chocolate, etc.) is the artist who literally paints chocolate on a live person! Kurt Larsen (local Bloomington artist) has been with us for the past several years and occasionally we've had 2 artists and 2 models! The atmosphere of the event is fun, relaxed, social, and a little bit fancy! We serve a dinner, this year which will be provided by One World Catering. Our theme for dinner is New Orleans Creole, so we'll be offering Classic Etouffee (Shrimp, Chicken, Andouille Sausage), and a Vegetarian Etouffee option.
Although this one is my favorite, there are several other events that I really hope to make it to this year. One being the Down Syndrome Family Connection Cocoa Couture Fashion Show...it's really neat, I always hear great things about WonderLab's After Dark: Chocolate event, and the Ekah Yoga's Cocoa Bliss immersion looks like a GREAT opportunity for a very special Valentine's Day date this year. Every single event on the lineup is a lot of fun, and each event caters to a slightly different audience. So my best recommendation is to try out the ones you're most interested in (I'm sure you won't be disappointed no matter which one you choose). If you attend 3 or more events, you'll receive a FREE 4-piece truffles upon turning in your stamped passport to Bloomington Chocolate Company. 5 of more stamps will get you a FREE 9-piece truffles. If you haven't tried their truffles...you should! :)
I've been to several of these events myself over the years. If I go to any this year, I'll definitely report on it for all of you readers. Who out there is going to attend some of these Month of Chocolate events with me in 2020?
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