Everyone Counts!
We are aiming to create topnotch destination festivals and programs that truly serve the communities with their diverse and intricate groups of people from the ground up
Summary and Focus of The Community Chest, Inc. (TCC) began its initiative in September of 2002. TCC is a philanthropic organization that supports community interests and needs through innovative and distinctive festivals and programs. The primary focus is to serve community interests and entities that build, nurture, and preserve the ideals of a quality community with proactive efforts. With a project management approach, TCC will create and establish successful business development infrastructures for each project. The goals are to set strong business foundations, and to financially sustain and support an initiative's activity and hard costs while helping to accomplish its objective. TCC's mission also focuses on cr eating quality-driven platforms to display talents, arts, and cultural appreciation; extend visibility opportunities for businesses and organizations; and offer multifaceted lifestyle experiences for vast and diverse groups.
Mission of The Community Chest, Inc.
The Community Chest (TCC) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit philanthropic organization that supports community interests and needs through innovative and distinctive project-based initiatives which include but are not limited to festivals and niche programs. The heart of the mission is The Cycle of Giving: The synergistic effect of giving back to the community, building stronger community relations, supporting economic development as it pertains to community growth, and enriching the community by producing high-quality cultural and lifestyle experiences with concentrated focus on arts and cultural themes.
Arts and cultural initiatives concentrate on platforms to showcase and support various art forms, known and emerging musicians and artists, and other cultural art explorations. Through our acts, we hope to remind others to welcome change, embrace cultural diversity, gain awareness of community needs, and participate in creating solutions to enrich lives. The Taste of Durham is the first project produced by The Community Chest to support these social values. Future niche programs and projects will serve other communities in different counties and regions.
Taste of Durham Festival
The Taste of Durham Festival is the first large-scale project design produced by The Community Chest, Inc. to serve life-enriching opportunities in various levels for many members of various communities. The second annual Taste of Durham Festival on May 27, 2006 was another overwhelming success. The distinctive international food and entertainment festival brought up to 15,000 people from Durham, Triangle communities, and beyond. Our quality-driven destination festival is geared to make a day to remember for the many hungering for a slice of the good life for years to come.
The commitment is to create a festival with distinction and to showcase high-quality entertainment. This unique festival is infused with international arts and cultural experiences, eclectic food sampling, an opportunity to experience a wide variety of music genres, an international dance showcase, wine and beer tasting from around the world, and many other opportunities for all ages to celebrate the good life and cultural experiences. These high-caliber gathering venues also allow area businesses, corporations, and organizations to connect directly with an attentive audience from various communities and to promote their business. Please visit www.tasteofdurham.org for a virtual visit to the festival and enjoy the virtual lifestyle magazine all year round. Each issue includes editorial departments with articles, resources, highlight artists, and positive stori es about people giving and sharing their time, talents, and what motivates them to enrich lives.
Objectives: "Philanthropic Giving Engine that gives back in so many ways"
We will give directly back to the community, offer contributions with impact, and serve communities within communities. We will:
• Targeted efforts to reach vast community groups with large-scale and high-profile festivals and programs to help promote gathering of integrated and diverse groups in one location.
• Create festival productions with distinction by highlighting unique characteristics of international and cultural diversity with food, music, entertainment, and "The Good Life" themes. First project: Taste of Durham Festival which also supports and complements the revitalization of Downtown Durham efforts, efforts to enhance the image of Durham, and a visibility platform for entities a nd businesses looking to reach festival audience.
• Develop a distinctive and innovative festival format that differentiates from the many other festivals that serve the community without infringing on existing and established programs and festivals.
• Foster, promote, nurture awareness and appreciation of diverse cultures, respect for international origins and people, and focus on unaddressed needs in this arena.
• Generate activities for cultural appreciation focusing on children.
• Offer quality entertainment and cultural arts and experiences that are affordable and accessible for a varied audience base.
• Support economic development by creating a visibility platform, which includes small, medium, and corporate restaurants/businesses to represent the whole community, and not limited to selected geographic areas.
• Provide an affordable means of marketing and branding for new and existing businesses. "Taste of" Festival formats help restaurants recoup booth cost and offers opportunity to generate additional revenue.
• Foster community involvement, civic engagement, and participation in public and community enrichment activities.
• Reach an ethnically-diverse audience with internationally-focused programs, with particular attention paid to marginalized and undeserved groups.
• Create a unique platform for arts and cultural experiences and appreciation.
• Create a quality-driven and high-profile venue with opportunities for artists and musicians to perform and showcase their works to the public, which can be difficult based on current trends in the music industry, lack of appropriate venues, budgetary constraints to promote themselves, lack of business support, and other limited visibility opportunities.
• Produce a non-political platform to bring cultural backgrounds together and witness local, regional, national, and global cultural explorations through arts and entertainment themes.
• Support "quality of life" issues with a festival and program models.
• Provide quality festival experiences with a family focus.
• Create effective platforms to showcase charities, businesses, civic organizations, arts and cultural organizations, and other entities that are part of the community to a large audience.
• Support other various charities, focusing on underserved charities, community programs, and infrastructures pertaining to community interest.
• Cultivate community relations and quality-of-life enrichments, and design an environment with a unique sense of community.
• Implement collaboration and partnership efforts with organizations with similar mission and initiatives, and offer to share resources, exchange information, etc.
Testaments of Fulfilling the Mission
Through our acts, we hope to remind other to welcome change, embrace cultural diversity, gain awareness of community needs, and participate in creating solutions to enrich lives. The Taste of Durham is the first project produced by The Community Chest to support these social values.
"I'm truly very proud of The Community Chest's vision, commitment, and persistence in achieving this noble task and also gathering the totality of the group. The thought of everyone, no matter how small or large their contributions may have been, enabled this great event to come to life. (The festival) was truly successful and contributed in a grand way in which all of us are proud of. We are grateful. The streets were open and our hearts were open. The energy and the vibes that brings all the various tastes, the cultures, and different backgrounds personify Durham and what the mission is to accomplish. It's through small tasks we can accomplish with everyone's unity and contribution, a greater and noble task. Thank you very much."
Giorgio Bakatsias, Giorgio's Hospitality Group
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festival 2005 & 2006!
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