2012 marks the tenth anniversary of our region’s premier culinary competition the Sacramento Chef Challenge, and organizers are inviting local restaurants, wineries, breweries and specialty shops to showcase their fare at the June 23rd event. The Sacramento Chef Challenge is a culinary extravaganza featuring two live cooking competitions, lavish food, wine and beer sampling, live music, raffle prizes and more. The event is expected to draw a crowd of over 1000 guests in celebration of INALLIANCE, a local nonprofit that has provided support to people with developmental disabilities for 60 years. “Our vendors draw a huge crowd each year by providing a variety of samples to our guests,” say

My long lived neighbor and companion, Timothy Murray, adopted his first dog "Maxwell Smart" from a shelter none other than God's SPCA, Church of Christ. Un doubly he has never needed him more each day. After two years with this special companion; the wired haired terrier and him has never felt more an item. It was no non-sense considering an adoptive pet request program offered by the little church of Rio Linda. Evidentiary, the Pet Programs were suitable for SPCA torts reform and due process; because it was easy to cleave to dog repair and salvation. I welcome those opinions of who maintain advertising still is needed in this system to keep a steady and consistent draconian function. A

“It’s getting cold out here.” Kelsey Cottle uttered this while ringing The Salvation Army bell outside Macy’s at Sunrise Mall.  Yet her fellow bell ringers did not care--they were having the time of their lives. “Yeah, they’re having fun,” Cottle said. Meet Carl Virgin and Eulogio Lizarraga--the jubilant bell ringers. Both have cerebral palsy and are confined to wheelchairs, but they do not let it deter their efforts to give back. “It just a good time for them to get out and people to see them,” said Cottle, who is Carl’s personal attendant through S.T.E.P. (Strategy To Empower People) services. “It’s great that they get to see them so happy and that they can do this (volunteer) like e

Tickets for Sacramento’s Premier Culinary competition are on sale just in time for the holiday season! The Sacramento Chef Challenge (previously known as the Celebrity Chef Challenge) features a head to head battle between three professional chefs, and tickets make a great gift for the amateur chef, wine connoisseur or food lover in your life. In 2012, the Sacramento Chef Challenge will be celebrating its tenth year, and in honor of this achievement, organizers are slashing ticket prices, adding new attractions and allowing guests to determine “Whose cuisine reigns supreme!” Chef Challengers will have three hours to prepare and serve a specialty menu based on a surprise theme. Guests wil

Thousands of Sacramento participants toughed out the rain this Thanksgiving morning as they participated in the 18th Annual Run to Feed the Hungry. The event is benefiting the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. For more information and race results visit www.runtofeedthehungry.com Photos from this morning's event:

Soaked turkey hats, rain gear and lots of slogging marked the 18th year of Run to Feed the Hungry. It was wet, but it was wonderful. East Sacramento Preservation set up a camera at the Y—45th and J Streets, where the 10k and the 5k split. The rain thinned out the throngs, and weakened the resolve of some to peel off the sheets, but the turn out was still enormous. The charity race is a cultural event in East Sacramento. You can’t watch without a smile and a warm heart, even on the wettest, dampest of days.

The Midnight Masquerade Charity Fashion Show flaunted a cornucopia of fashion designs and styles – from pop art-inspired dresses to “Star Wars” costumes – by Sacramento State students Tuesday at the Sacramento State University Union Ballroom. More than 200 people attended the two-hour charity event, which helped raised funds for the Autism Center for Excellence at Sacramento State or A.C.E., a program by United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Sacramento that provides socialization training programs for children ages 8-12 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. SFA donated part of the proceeds from the event in the amount of $300 to UCP. To welcome guests, while keeping with the midnight m

Lace up your shoes, Sacramento -- the 18th annual Run to Feed the Hungry is this week! Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) encourages you to be part of Sacramento's Thanksgiving tradition. The 5K and 10K fun run and walk launches from Sacramento State, 6000 J St., on Thanksgiving morning. With 30,000 participants expected to be involved, you are guaranteed a morning of fun with family and friends. Every week up until then, we will interview a new Run to Feed the Hungry runner. We will ask a handful of different past and present runners the same questions. We have found that people are motivated by many different reasons to be involved in this incredible event. There is still

Thanksgiving is a holiday for community, sharing and, of course, a bountiful feast. Thanks to several local organizations, even those who aren’t able to afford a turkey dinner with all the trimmings this year can still enjoy a free meal. All are invited to come, fill their plates, and be grateful for warm turkey on a cool November day. Below are nine charities and churches hosting Thanksgiving dinner this week. If you know of any others, please add to the list in the Conversation section. Happy Thanksgiving! Sacramento Loaves & Fishes When: Tuesday from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Where: 1321 North C St. 446-0874 Sacramento Loaves & Fishes will serve a Thanksgiving feast, complete with turkey,

On Monday, November 21, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS), a local non-pofit organization serving families in need,  will host its annual turkey and holiday food distribution. On this special day SFBFS will serve thousands of Sacramento families experiencing hardship this season. There are no zip code restrictions to receive holiday food, only a limit of one per household. This year's distribution is different from previous years in that SFBFS will offer one longer day of service instead of two days of morning-only service. In an effort to assist working families, SFBFS will begin service at 8am and go well into the late afternoon/early evening. Turkey distribution will begi

The Urban Hive was filled with nearly 100 representatives from local charities and non-profits at the Sacramento Social Media Club’s “Social Media Best Practices for Charities” last Tuesday. The event, hosted by Clay Nutting, director of Concepts 4 Charity and account executive for 3Fold Communications, inspired attendees to use social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube to spread their message, raise funds and increase public awareness of their cause in order to promote social change.  Panelist Julie Bornhoeft, director of development and community relations for WEAVE, Inc., advised the audience that beginning to use social media is quite simple – you must have a presen

Lace up your shoes, Sacramento -- the 18th annual Run to Feed the Hungry is only a couple weeks away! Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) encourages you to be part of Sacramento's Thanksgiving tradition. The 5K and 10K fun run and walk launches from Sacramento State, 6000 J St., on Thanksgiving morning. With 30,000 participants expected to be involved, you are guaranteed a morning of fun with family and friends. Every week up until then, we will interview a new Run to Feed the Hungry runner. We will ask a handful of different past and present runners the same questions. We have found that people are motivated by many different reasons to be involved in this incredible event.

Wanted: turkeys or ham. That is what The Salvation Army needs for its upcoming Thanksgiving community meal.  "We need some additional donation so we can feed anyone looking for a hot meal this Thanksgiving," said Captain Hendrk Sumter, Salvation Army Sacramento County Coordinator.  "Every bit helps when we are serving a lot of people." More than 500 are expected to come to The Salvation Army Emergency Shelter in downtown Sacramento for the annual free meal.  The donated meat will used for that day and to feed the clients from the shelter program. Last week, California State Automobile Association of Northern California helped the cause by donating 31 turkeys.  Information about how to

The morning air is crisp and cool. The signs of fall are all around and one of the most exciting and busiest seasons is fast approaching for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. KCRA and Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services are hosting the 4th annual Turkey Drive on November 18, 2011. Last year, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services collected 7,053 turkeys thanks to the generous support of local residents. The need is even greater this year and the goal has been set to collect 8,000 turkeys from individuals, families, classrooms and local businesses in a single day. The Turkey Drive will take place at Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services' Oak Park facility (3333 Third Ave - near

Lace up your shoes, Sacramento -- the 18th annual Run to Feed the Hungry is only a few weeks away. Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) encourages you to be part of Sacramento's Thanksgiving tradition. The 5K and 10K fun run and walk launches from Sacramento State, 6000 J St., on Thanksgiving morning. With 30,000 participants expected to be involved, you are guaranteed a morning of fun with family and friends. Every week up until then, we will interview a new Run to Feed the Hungry runner. We will ask a handful of different past and present runners the same questions. We have found that people are motivated by many different reasons to be involved in this incredible event. The

Through their use of Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other social media tools, many local charities have spread their message, raised funds and increased public awareness of their cause in order to promote social change. In the hopes of spreading their stories and inspiring other philanthropic organizations to do the same, four local charities will be conducting a panel discussion at the Sacramento Social Media Club’s “Social Media Best Practices for Charities” on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Urban Hive. Moderated by Clay Nutting, director of Concepts 4 Charity and account executive for 3Fold Communications, the event will include panelists: Kate Towson, Americorps VISTA with Sacrament

Lace up your shoes, Sacramento -- the 18th annual Run to Feed the Hungry is only a few weeks away. Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) encourages you to be part of Sacramento's Thanksgiving tradition. The 5K and 10K fun run and walk launches from Sacramento State, 6000 J St., on Thanksgiving morning. With 30,000 participants expected to be involved, you are guaranteed a morning of fun with family and friends. Every week up until then, we will interview a new Run to Feed the Hungry runner. We will ask a handful of different past and present runners the same questions. We have found that people are motivated by many different reasons to be involved in this incredible event. The

More than 200 handbags were up for grabs during the October 15 Helping Handbags luncheon and auction. Hosted by The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, a volunteer group made of local business women and retirees, the event had nearly 500 attendees pack the Radisson Hotel grand ballroom to check out the seventh annual live and silent auctions. “It exceeded my dreams,” said Laurel Speier, Helping Handbags event chairperson. “You could see the ladies here in attendance had a lot of fun.” More than $75,000 was raised. All of the proceeds will go to Salvation Army’s programs for women and children in the Sacramento area. “Many of us here are blessed to have (comfortable) lives,” Speier said,

On Saturday, November 19, the Sacramento Cat Hospital will host its third annual pet food drive, benefiting Titanic's Pantry (the Sacramento Pet Food Bank). All donations of cat and dog food, canned or dry, will help feed hungry animals throughout Sacramento. The pet food drive will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sacramento Cat Hospital, 4115 Manzanita Avenue in Carmichael. In addition to pet food, donations of leashes, collars, cat litter, bedding, and other pet supplies are welcome. "If a family is having a tough time paying the bills or feeding their children, they may not be able to feed their pet," said Dr. Billie Bensen Martin, owner of the Sacramento Cat Hospital. "Thi

After an attempt at a hostile take-over by a large pet food chain, the owner Millie of Trends-n-Treats (a local, woman-owned and operated pet supply boutique) took on a don't-give-up, give-back attitude. Now celebrating six months in their beautiful new location in the Promenade Shopping Center, they have joined forces with Sacramento's largest adoption organization, the SPCA, now offering monthly adoptions with the SPCA mobile adoption trailer. "Trends-N-Treats is better than ever...they continue to add value to the community in which they serves" exclaims Llewellyn, resident of Fair Oaks, CA & client of Trends-n-Treats. "We're all very excited to see animals go to great homes. We have gr