If you follow the blog, you know I’m a big supporter of Friends of Fido. I set up the yearly calendar contest to help raise money for the group and I’m always happy to help promote their events and assist in any way that I can. This year, I am on the committee for the 5th Annual Celebrity Bartender Night. I have attended every Celebrity Bartender Night and I just love this event!

If you are looking for a fun evening in the Youngstown area and would like to help a great cause, this event is for you! It will be held on Thursday August 10th at The Lake Club in Poland. The event includes dinner, a cash bar, live auction and a basket raffle. 100% of the proceeds from the event go directly to the Friends of Fido general fund. This is their biggest fundraiser of the year and this event really does make a difference to the dogs at the Mahoning County Dog Pound.

The featured bartenders for the 2017 event include John Hirschbeck, retired MLB umpire; Jessica Shields K-9 Officer for the Youngstown Police Department and contestant on The Amazing Race; and Patrick Lavanty, owner of Nicolinni’s in Boardman and a contestant on America Ninja Warrior. There will be other local celebrities there as well, bartending for the event. Each bartender competes to raise the most money for Friends of Fido with their tips.

If you aren’t familiar with Friends of Fido, they are a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the dogs at the Mahoning County Dog Pound. One of their major expenses is pull fees. So far in the first half of 2017, they have paid OVER $7,000 in just pull fees. They pay the pound $35 per dog to have them pulled and sent to an approved rescue. No dog should spend their days and nights in the pound. That $7,000 does not include the money spent every year on vet bills, temporary boarding and transporting the dogs. Friends of Fido spends over $95,000 annually helping the dogs of the pound! The group is independent of the pound and they depend solely on donations and fundraising. They are run by dedicated volunteers with all of the money raised going towards helping the dogs.

If you are free, please come to the The Lake Club on August 10th and help support the dogs! You can purchase tickets though this link until August 4th – https://friendsoffido.ticketspice.com/celebrity-bartender.