Sunday Fund Day

Want to incorporate some delicious do-gooding into this weekend’s plans? Head over to the downtown Taco Boy and park it in front of their new taco truck, which will be doling out Mexican fare and fresh juices during the Kitchen for Kids brunch and silent auction for the Living Water Children’s Centre (LWCC) in Tanzania.

Back in June 2008, local Lee Berlinsky wrote an article in Charleston about the month he spent volunteering at the then-five-year-old orphanage. Tanzanian Anza Kimaro founded the place when he noticed a six-year-old boy living on the streets and eating from a pile of garbage. After learning that there were more than one million orphans in Tanzania, many who had lost their parents to the HIV/AIDS and malaria pandemics, the Kimaro family renovated their home to accommodate those in need. Whether the children were orphans, disabled, or extremely poor, the family provided them with food, medical care, and other necessities.

Over the past two years, the New York-based LWCC-USA was established with eight board members, including Berlinsky, to raise awareness and funds for the center. Last January, a brand-new boarding-style primary school opened its doors in Arusha, Tanzania, and now houses 194 students. The school has already tested among the top 10 in the country and is equipped with modern amenities such as solar-powered dormitories, a rainwater collection system, and generators to offset the country’s almost weekly power outages. Cows, goats, chickens, and a vegetable garden provide the raw materials needed to make nutritious meals for the students, but as of now, the school still cooks over firewood.

And that’s where your “Sunday Funday” comes in. Berlinsky is hoping to raise $15,000 to build an efficient and sanitary kitchen for the Yakini Primary School. He firmly believes in the center’s mission, which he says hasn’t changed since he first visited the humble building that originally housed the orphans. “LWCC wants to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for the children of Tanzania,” he says. “We want to take in as many orphans as we can, because their government won’t.”

So why not brunch for a cause? Come hungry and ready to place your bids on goodies from Charleston Bicycle Company, tickets to the Circle of Light Gala, beautiful loose stones of tanzanite, and more while sipping on beer and wine. You’ll start the week knowing that instead of simply filling up and chatting with friends, you helped build a kitchen in Africa.

Kitchen for Kids Sunday Brunch & Silent Auction. Taco Boy, 217 Huger St. Sunday, 11am-2pm. $55; $50 advance. (843) 882-5424, www.livingwatercharleston.com

To read Berlinsky’s June 2008 article, “Mission Possible,” on his volunteer work at the Living Water Children’s Centre, click here.

To find additional upcoming fundraisers in our Charitable Events Calendar, click here.

To search for more events happening around town this weekend, click here.