Raleigh, N.C. — Cafe Carolina and Bakery raised $18,726 for Special Olympics North Carolina as part of its sponsorship in the Over the Edge fundraiser to benefit Special Olympics, according to Keith L. Fishburne, president/CEO of Special Olympics North Carolina. Cafe Carolina raised the funds through their “A Sweet Way to Help” promotion. Customers were asked to donate $1 to Special Olympics NC in exchange for one of Cafe Carolina’s oversized fresh-baked cookies. All four Cafe Carolina restaurants participated in the month long promotion in September. Cafe Carolina and Bakery has been a long time supporter of Special Olympics. Special Olympics holds an important place in the heart of the Cafe Carolina team as there is at least one individual with intellectual disabilities working in every store and most are Special Olympics athletes.
In addition to the financial support, Cafe Carolina also opened their Wells Fargo Capitol Center store on Oct. 5 to cater to event guests. The Wells Fargo building store served as base camp for the Over the Edge event. In addition to providing meals to event volunteers, the store normally only open Monday through Friday, opened for business to all rapellers and spectators. The store also donated all sales of bakery items on event day to Special Olympics NC.
In total, the “Over the Edge” for Special Olympics North Carolina fundraiser raised $242,000 for Special Olympics North Carolina athletes. In its fourth year in Raleigh, 140 area thrill seekers made a grand impact on the local community and touched thousands of people with intellectual disabilities when they rappelled from 30-stories of the Wells Fargo Capitol Center in Downtown Raleigh. The unique and thrilling event raised more than $180,000. In the event’s third year in Charlotte, 60 rappellers raised $62,000 scaling 23 stories down the Fifth Third Center. In addition to corporate sponsorships, the rappellers each raised a minimum of $1,000 for the “privilege” to go Over the Edge.
“Special Olympics North Carolina is very grateful to Cafe Carolina for sponsoring the Over the Edge event for a fourth straight year and so generously helping us raise funds through the ‘A Sweet Way to Help’ promotion,” said Fishburne. “We are very appreciative of all Cafe Carolina did to make the Over the Edge event so successful.”
“Cafe Carolina is proud to be a part of the Over the Edge event which we look forward to every year,” said Ron Hines, co-owner of Cafe Carolina and Bakery. “We appreciate our customers stepping up this year to support Special Olympics North Carolina through the ‘A Sweet Way to Help’ promotion.”
Next year, Special Olympics North Carolina will host Over the Edge events in Raleigh on Oct. 4, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Capitol Center and in Charlotte the event will take place on Sept. 27, 2014 at the Fifth Third Bank. For more information and to register, visit www.overtheedgenc.com.
About Cafe Carolina and Bakery
Since 1995, Cafe Carolina and Bakery has offered a “warm welcome” to customers, with fresh made sandwiches, soups and salads in a friendly, upscale atmosphere. There are four locations in North Carolina including: Raleigh, Cary, and Chapel Hill. For more information, visit our website at www.cafecarolina.com.
About Special Olympics North Carolina
Special Olympics North Carolina offers year-round sports training and competition for more than 38,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. These athletes inspire greatness through their success and provide motivation to the thousands of coaches, sports officials, local program committee members and event organizers involved in Special Olympics statewide. SONC offers Olympic-type competition in 19 sports on local and state levels. It is one of the largest Special Olympics Programs in the world in terms of registered athletes. Engage with us on http://twitter.com/sonc_beafan; http://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsNC and http://www.youtube.com/BeAFanSONC.
