Raleigh, N.C. - Cafe Carolina and Bakery raised $32,092 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. 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. 4 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 fifth year in Raleigh, 180 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 $215,000. In the event’s third year in Charlotte, 55 rappellers raised $45,000 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 extremely grateful to Cafe Carolina for sponsoring the Over the Edge event for a fifth 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 and their employees did to make the Over the Edge event such a successful fundraiser.”
“As long term partners with Special Olympics North Carolina, we were honored to be able to support them through our cookie sales and the Over the Edge event,” said Ron Hines, owner of Café Carolina. “We want to especially recognize and thank our amazing customers who generously donated, resulting in a record setting campaign this year.”
Next year, Special Olympics North Carolina will host Over the Edge events in Raleigh on Oct. 3, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Capitol Center and the event will be back in Charlotte on Sept. 26, 2015. 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 nearly 40,000 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.