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SOUTH OGDEN — There’s nothing like enjoying delicious food on a warm, spring day while giving back to the community.
This weekend, Esteem Academy of Beauty will host its “Food Trucks for a Cause,” a new event that will bring the community together to fundraise for local charities, according to event coordinator Morgan Scheer.
The event was launched last month as a way to draw attention to the beauty school, which has been open less than a year, Scheer said.
Though it happened to fall on one of the few snowy days of the year, more than 600 locals gathered to enjoy the food provided by several local food trucks, Scheer said.
The positive response led the hosts to plan another event, this time for a charitable cause.
Scheer said the beauty school will probably host the event once a month, so that people can “come out and enjoy the community and good food, at the same time have an opportunity to give back to a really noble cause.”
At each event, funds will be raised for a different local charity. This time, donations will go to GiGi’s Playhouse in Layton, a facility that offers free programs and family support for individuals with Down syndrome.
Esteem Academy of Beauty owner Darci Brown has some relatives with Down syndrome and wanted to support Gigi’s Playhouse, Scheer said.
The facility, which is the first GiGi’s Playhouse in Utah, is run by volunteers, sponsors and charitable donations, according to president and CEO of GiGi’s Playhouse in Layton, Brittanie Flint.
“We are super thankful for organizations like Esteem Beauty College that are willing to do this and help us keep our doors open,” Flint said. “It just means a lot to us and we are very very grateful for people like that.”
Volunteers from the facility will have a booth set up at the event with literature that will help educate people about Down syndrome, Flint said.
A community longs to feel like they belong to something bigger.
–Morgan Scheer
GiGi’s Playhouse in Layton serves more than 285 families with individuals with Down syndrome, who can access things like physical therapy, occupational therapy, socialization and more, all for free, Flint said.
All of the families involved in GiGi’s Playhouse have been invited to attend the event, Flint said.
“It helps being out in the community at like this food truck event, it helps them associate and interact with children and individuals with Down syndrome,” Flint said. “And it helps them understand that we need to raise the expectation in the community that they can achieve anything that we can do — it just might take a little bit longer and you just have to give them the opportunity to do that.”
Ten food trucks plan to be at the event Saturday, including Cupbop, Waffle Love, The Matterhorn, Wingin It, World’s Best Corn Dogs, That Hot Dog Place on Wheels, Courses Cooks, Rolling Mountain Bistro, Leila’s Luau and Pier 49 Pizza, according to Scheer.
Event attendees will have the opportunity to donate to GiGi’s Playhouse while at the event if they choose.
“I think that the community wants this,” Scheer said. “A community longs to feel like they belong to something bigger.”
For more information about Esteem’s “Food Trucks for a Cause,” follow its Facebook page.
The next event will be held at the end of May, Scheer said.
