RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2012) – Cafe Carolina and Bakery raised $28,500 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.
Café Carolina raised the funds through their “A Sweet Way to Help” promotion. Customers were asked to donate $1 to Special Olympics in exchange for one of Café Carolina’s oversized fresh-baked cookies.
All Cafe Carolina restaurants participated in the month long promotion. Special Olympics and the cause is especially close to the heart of the Cafe Carolina and Bakery 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. 6 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 rappellers and volunteers the store – normally only open Monday through Friday – opened for business to all spectators and provided a place to watch the live video streaming of the event provided by Shoreline Productions.
The store also donated all sales of bakery items on event day to Special Olympics NC. Cafe Carolina also provided food and beverages at the Over the Edge – Charlotte event on Oct. 13.
In total, the “Over the Edge” for Special Olympics North Carolina fundraiser raised $215,000 for Special Olympics North Carolina athletes. In its third year in Raleigh, 96 area thrill seekers made a grand impact on the local community and touched thousands of people with intellectual disabilities when they rappelled from 32-stories of the Wells Fargo Capitol Center in Downtown Raleigh. The unique and thrilling event raised more than $145,000. In the event’s second year in Charlotte, 60 rappellers raised $70,000 scaling 35 stories down The VUE- Charlotte on 5th. 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 third straight year and so generously helping us raise funds through the cookie campaign,” said Fishburne. “We are very appreciative of all Cafe Carolina did to make the Over the Edge event so successful.”
Next year, Special Olympics North Carolina will host Over the Edge events in Raleigh on Oct. 5, 2013 at the Wells Fargo Capitol Center and in Charlotte the event will take place on Oct. 12, 2013 at the Fifth Third Bank. Interested participants can register and begin fundraising now. For more information and to register, visit www.overtheedgenc.com.
About Café Carolina and Bakery
Since 1995, Café Carolina and Bakery has offered a “warm welcome” to customers, with fresh made sandwiches, soups and salads in a friendly, upscale atmosphere. There are six locations across North Carolina including: Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Greensboro and Charlotte. Cafe Carolina and Bakery is owned by Boddie-Noell Enterprises, a family-owned restaurant franchise business headquartered in Rocky Mount. For more information, visit the 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.